Thirty-One

1.  Lacey's had a fever for a couple days now.
2.  She puked last night and again this morning.
3.  I was up a lot last night listening for her, but only once did she actually need me.
4.  Both times she threw up only Dan was home with her, and she aims at him well.
5.  My maternal grandma (and last grandparent) passed away Monday.
6.  I'm driving to the funeral without Dan so he can stay home with Lacey.
7.  I miss him and wish he could come.
8.  My two oldest are with me.  They crack me up.
9.  My Grandma always had cookies ready for us anytime we showed up at her door.
10.  I want to be a grandma like that.
11.  Some days I keep my kids alive just so I can be a grandma.  That's the fun part, right???
12.  I love the Gospel!
13.  I have the best calling ever.  (4th Sunday RS teacher)
14.  Lacey and Matty both cut one top tooth this week.  Matty beat her by a few days.
15.  Lacey also just hit 20 lbs finally.  The puking probably will undo that. 
16.  Dan and I bought a weight lifting set and have been heavy lifting a few weeks.
17.  I love muscles! 
18.  I have a hard time spending money on myself.
19.  I wish I could go to Hawaii again.  Like right now.
20.  I'm very thankful for the friends I have.
21.  One of my daily goals is to make my husband laugh.
22.  Naps are awesome.  What was I thinking fighting them as a kid???
23.  I went to Zumba this morning.  I love Zumba!  It's my favorite form of exercise.
24.  As of my weigh in today, I'm 1/2 a pound shy of 40 pounds lost.  (Update pics soon!)
25.  The big kids and I are stopped at my parents' tonight on our way to Grandma's funeral.
26.  My dad bought me flowers and a cake late tonight.

 

27.  The kids were all ready for bed and had brushed their teeth.  Of course they didn't mind.

28.  My heart rate monitor completely surprised me today with a little graphic.  I had no idea it did that.

29.  Earlier tonight I took my kids out to Baskin Robins since they have "31" in the logo.

30.  Today is the 31st of August.
31.  Today I turned 31.

First Day of School!

Not the picture you were expecting??  Me either.

Matty started feeling sick Sunday after church.  That night he got a fever that's only gone away an hour or two here and there for the last 2 days.  We were all really hoping he'd feel well enough to go to the first day of school today, but after spiking to 104 late yesterday, we knew that probably wasn't going to happen.  He woke up feeling a little bit better, but by the end of the day he looked like this again.  I'm so sad he had to miss out on all the fun first day of school stuff.  :(

At least he's had some cute and silly nurses to help care for him.  

 

 

Sadly, they both have colds (but no fevers) and I'm pretty sure they're separate viruses.  Lacey had a bad fever about 2 weeks ago for 2 days, so maybe that's what Matty's got now?  We'll see how he feels tomorrow.  I'd really hate for him to have to miss another day.

As a bonus to all this, I caught the girls' colds today as well.  It hit me hard and fast.  Needless to say it's been a rough one here.  PRAYING tomorrow is better!

S'more Summer Fun

I'm one of those strange parents who really doesn't want school to start again.  We've had a GREAT summer together playing, and Matty has become a HUGE help with his sisters.  As I was lamenting the end of summer vacation last week, we decided to turn it into a week of fun for us.  We did at least one super fun thing every day including going to Trafalga, 7 Peaks water park (twice), visiting friends, going to the splash pad, going out for ice cream, and more.

 On Friday our day got away from us thanks to a doctor's visit for Lacey (only to be told it's "just a virus" and nothing would help) and an extremely sleep-deprived mom taking care of a super whiny baby all day.  So we played it a little more low key and had a s'more pajama party in our yard as our fun summer activity for the day.

If you're perhaps wondering why my kids are wearing flannel pajamas in 90+ degree weather, I'd love to know that myself.  Can't talk them out of their favorites. 

 

Apparently it's pretty hard to bit down on a s'more with no front teeth.  

It seems when you're baby doesn't feel well, you appreciate their sweet smiles even more. 

Daring Water Acrobatics

I'm sure you're all thinking after the last several posts that all we did this summer was run around in our swimsuits.  Well this next post isn't going to help that perception . . . and it's pretty much true anyway.  (I don't have one picture of our many, many trips to 7 Peaks or they'd be on here, too.)

Back in June we went with my sister's family to her in-laws' pool where many brave souls perfected their skills in the old ancient art of . . . well, they just stood on their Daddy's shoulders.

Daddies need to have their fun, too!

(Actually, they started the trend.)

 

Others, of course, sometimes prefer to just sit back with some crackers and play the role of spectator.

 

Celebrating With a Splash

The kids wanted to celebrate the end of their swim lessons, so we went to a splash pad.  It was so hot out that day (over 100) that Dan and I donned our swimwear as well and got sprayed right along with the kids.

Lacey is our only kid with hair that curls.  Jossy's has a natural wave to it (like her mommy's) but it's not curly.  I just love little wet curls!

 

 

Swim Lessons, Finally!

My kids are deprived in many ways with me as their mother, one of those being I've never given Matty swim lessons.  It seems every summer we're running here and there and I just can't bring myself to commit to 2 weeks of availability.  I didn't feel like I could put it off any longer since he's 7 1/2 now and really does need to learn.  We've tried teaching him ourselves, but it's never clicked.  So I signed him and Jossy up on the last available session of the summer.  (Queen of last minute here!)

The first day of class Matty and Jossy were both soooo excited, that is until it was time to leave my side.  Jossy didn't want to leave me.  Long story short, I tried sitting on the edge with her observing her class since she wouldn't participate when a pool manager came to offer her an aide.  I said I didn't know if it would really help her move away from me, but he told me either way I had to move because their rule is no parents within 10 feet of the pool.  I asked her if she wanted a special friend to swim with her because Mommy was getting in trouble for staying next to the pool.  She agreed quickly to that (miraculously) and attached to her new friend immediately.  Thank goodness because one thing that really irritates me is paying money for something and it going to waste!  They had a great 2 weeks together and Jossy was excited every day to swim with her "blue teacher."  (Her swimsuit was blue and Jossy couldn't remember the girl's name.)

Matty passed the first level just fine and can finally swim on his own a bit.  The other kids in his group were 5, so he was the oldest.  But when I told him how sorry I was there was no one his age, he said, "It's fine, Mom!  I don't mind!"  Such a sweetheart I have.  He doesn't worry about age, gender, ability, or any other differences, (a wonderful trait of his that sometimes leads to him being teased at school.  That's a whole other story.)

They're both excited to take lessons again next year.

Our Own Water Park

We've been borrowing this inflatable pool for the summer and decided it would be fun to try out under our slide.  The kids and their friends had a great time.  Lacey of course preferred to just sit on the bottom and ruin everyone's fun, but thankfully the bigger kids were very kind about letting her have a turn to use it her own way.  

7 Peaks has nothing on us!

 

This is "Mom, why aren't you putting down the camera to come swing me???"

Followed by "Never mind.  I have a big sister to take pity on me."

The Song I Never Got to Sing

"All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth"

I guess my timing for missing my front teeth wasn't around Christmas because I don't remember being able to sing that song, but Matty sure can.  I don't think those top teeth are heading down any time soon.  We're wondering who will get theirs first, him or Miss Lacey who still only has two on the bottom at nearly 16 months. 

I held that little baby tooth of his in my hand the night he pulled it out and felt so sad.  I remember celebrating that tooth coming in and I swear it wasn't that long ago.  He looks so different with this big hole in his mouth, like he was in a hockey game that went awry.  I'm enjoying his strange smile for now though because I know soon enough those awkward man teeth will be coming in when they have no place on such a sweet little face. 

The Guard: A Cautionary Tale

Dan was gone for almost a week in July for work.  When he got back it was almost 10 PM on a Friday.  It was just passed 11 PM when I decided I really couldn't handle his shaggy, overgrown hair another minute.  It was so late and we were both exhausted but I really just wanted to get his haircut done.  So he set everything up and waited for me to get an apron and broom.  When I came in he was seated and handed the clippers to me.  I assumed he had everything ready so I didn't even check if the guard was on.  NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING when it comes to cutting hair.

I ran the clippers from his neck to near the top of his head, catching what seemed to be an unusually large amount of hair.  Then I saw it.  I gasped, covered my mouth, kept repeating how sorry I was, laughed and cried for about 5 minutes strait. 

Dan's response to all this?  "Okay."

Um, what??

Yeah, he was totally fine with it, laughed a bit and told me to shave it all off.  I kept telling him how sorry I was, and he just kept repeating it's no big deal, no one is deathly ill, it didn't turn green, just shave it off.  I'm pretty sure I have the best husband ever for not making me feel bad for even a second.  It was no big deal to him.  I tried to cut it longer and make the bald spot work, but eventually I just used a 1 on top and without the guard everywhere else. 

So when our kids saw him the next morning after not seeing him for a week, they ran up and said, "Woah.  Your hair is different!"  Then poor Dan became the family dog for about 2 weeks as Jossy and Lacey both couldn't stop petting his head just to feel it.  LOL  It's grown out to his regular haircut length, but I think he wants me to cut it that short again.  Who knew a mistake would turn out so well-liked? :)

I have to add this isn't the first time I've made the mistake of cutting without the guard on, but last time it was just a tiny nick above his ear back in college and no one even noticed. That time it was like 1 AM when I did that haircut.  I guess the morals of these stories are always check for the guard and I shouldn't be allowed to cut hair past 11 PM!!

Karate Kid

Matty started karate in June.  Our new city rec center started offering classes in a few things, and he decided he really wanted to try karate.  The class is twice a week and only had a few kids which gives them lots of attention from their teachers.  My favorite thing about it is probably the self defense techniques he's learned.  Mid July he got his yellow belt. 

During his testing

 

Receiving his certificate and belt 

Saying thank you at the end of every class 

 Matty with his two teachers

He's still taking classes right now but I think we're going to take a break once school starts.  We'll see how much homework he has and decide when/if he wants to get back into it.  He really does enjoy it but the moves are requiring more coordination lately and it's gotten a little frustrating to him.

Is July Over???

Really?  My bad.  Guess you'll have to put up with some super late posts.

I've been so crazy busy this summer with various lessons for the kids, working out, a traveling husband, viruses (both computer and physical), church callings, and squeezing every drop of fun out of summer that we can.  The blog has been one of those things that just sits in the back of my mind every day nagging me to get it done, but of course the further behind you fall the harder it is to catch up and the less you want to try.  So here I am, just before school starts and finally blogging about July.  It is what it is.  Guess I have to start biting that elephant if I want to actually eat it. I'll make this one quick.

 On July 3rd (right after that Alpine fire started) we headed up to my parents' city for their annual fireworks show. We were patriotically prepared!

 

We played carnival games, rode down inflatable slides, and played around waiting for things to start.

The kids were exhausted since the show starts at 10 and bedtime is usually around 8, but they did great.  Lacey was the most tired but she loved the fireworks and kept signing "more" every time there was a pause. 

The next day we went to breakfast with my parents' ward at a local park.  Then we drove back home and just chilled the rest of the day.  We had some neighbors over for s'mores, too.

I love these little stinkers!