Abi

Abi cracks me up lately. Today she came in eating a candy cane. I asked her if she wanted to go eat a pickle with Scout and Grace. She said "But I'm eating a dirty candy cane."

Why are you eating a dirty candy cane?

"Because I like eating them."

Ok

"Just forget about it." She throws it in the bathroom garbage and starts singing "I broke it, ah ah ah ah ah." Then she asks Scout and Grace if she can have a pickle.

The Ultrasound

We went to the ultrasound today. . . It's a Boy! Jared is really excited. I think the ultrasound tech lady was more excited then I was. The girls were all there and she was worried about it being a girl and us being mad. She said she has had people storm out after finding out the gender. I think that is why they do the measurements before they tell you. For us it was obvious it was a boy when she was doing the measurements. She scanned past it and I went "Ope" and she said "You saw that then?" and went back and tagged it. She gave us a ton of pictures along with a dvd. Usually we have only been given 3 or 4 pictures. She gave us 16 and about 5 of them are "boy" pictures. When she was cutting them apart she said to hide them so no one sees she gave us that many or she could get in trouble.

Hodads

If you are in San Diego, you really should try this restaurant. It's 3 miles from Sea World and has the best burgers on the planet, their onion rings are really good too, better then the fries. The neighborhood is a bit, um, well, how should I say it? A good representation of the neighborhood is the fact that there is a "Tobacco: Pipes and Accessories" store right across the street, and a lot of people who frequent those stores milling about. It doesn't feel dangerous, just a little sketchy.

They have a dine in but it's not really little kid friendly and Jared's a little scared of the owner, not the type of person to complain about your order to. The burgers are awesome. We will be going there every time we go to Sea World from now on. It was by far the best thing we ate on our whole trip.

I love the slogans they have.

"Under 99 billion served" "Open 24 hours (just not in a row)"
"If God hadn't intended for us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat."

To see a picture go to:
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=390

Short Summary of Our Trip

Lots of driving
Grace throws up at Disneyland the first day we are there
We have fun the whole week at Disneyland, Huntington Beach, and Sea World
Drive to Vegas to Alisha's
Abi throws up 5 minutes after we get there
We have fun with Alisha's family
Drive home

I'm beginning to think, maybe throwing up is just a part of being at Disneyland. So far Grace, Abi, and I all have new outfits from Disneyland because of puking incidents. We joked with Scout that she just needs to throw up on herself and Jared. Then we would all have Disneyland outfits.

Will You Post Already?

I keep clicking on my blog waiting for a post to appear about Disneyland and it hasn't happened. Very frustrating. Couldn't someone else do that for me?

24 hours and counting

We will be leaving the house with a packed car to go to Scout's Christmas program in 24 hours. Then we will leave strait from the school. As you might imagine, everyone is quite excited, even though it has made the Christmas preparations a little hectic. I don't know if Abi quite gets what is going on. My guess is she will be really excited when we actually see Disneyland because that is when she will get that we are going.

The Best Husband Ever

1. Jared has never complained about the house being a mess, or questioned what I do at home all day.
2. When we went to the Olive Garden just because I wanted to go and Grace spilled the whole glass of water in Jared's lap, he didn't get angry at me for laughing.
3. Jared puts the kids to bed almost every night.
4. When I went scrap booking for the weekend, I came home to a house cleaner than I left it (not to mention the fact that Jared watched the kids for two days just so I could go scrap booking).
5. Jared went to the fabric store to get more material when I ran out.

Worst Date Ever Tag

Ok, since I have only been asked out on three real dates, and all the high school dance dates weren't that bad I am going to go with the one time I was asked out on what I thought was a date, that turned out completely different.

The Invite: I had just gotten back from 5 months in Russia and hadn't really talked to anyone yet. I got a phone call from some guy I used to work with. He asked me if I wanted to go with him to this thing he and his friends were going to. I said sure and he told me when he was going to pick me up. He came and got me with one of his friends and we started the drive to Salt Lake.

The Surprise: About halfway there he informs me that he didn't completely tell me the truth. He proceeds to tell me that he has been going to this rehab thing for depression and drugs and he was having his graduation for it. They were asked to bring some people they thought this program would help and he thought of me. He said he didn't think I would have come if he had told me what it really was. Personally, I didn't think I needed rehab, and as far as I know Mom wasn't involved in the little plan to get me there.

The Ambush: Before we got to the place we stopped by this other guys house that they had talked to his mom about bringing, but nobody had told him about it. So the three of us go in there to convince him to loose the weed and come with us to start this program. Talk about uncomfortable. I know these things help, but the whole time we are sitting there I kept thinking, "Dude, I totally know how ambushed you feel at the moment. I wouldn't go if they had done this to me." And then the mom turns to me and said, as a girl, don't I have something to say that will encourage him to come? That made things make a little more sense. He had a guy with him, he needed a girl too. I don't know what I said; I'm sure I mumbled somethings. Boy was I glad to leave that house though.

The Event: So we show up and they immediately separate us into the newcomers and the "graduates." As it so happened the only two people I knew there were the ones I came with and they were both graduates, so I got thrown into this room of a hundred people I don't know. Now if you know much about me, I don't like going to places by myself, especially if there are people there. I won't even go get fast food unless Jared comes and because I don't like talking to people to take my order. So this is not my ideal scenario. So for the next hour we go through bonding experiences with these strangers. "Find a partner that you have never met and sit facing each other. Now I want you to share a difficult experience from you childhood and tell them how that made you feel. You need to talk, just don't stop, for 5 minutes and then we will switch." Yeah, I don't do that. Everybody there was so open and touchy feelly. Really not the place for me. I figured I am never going to see these people again so I just made things up the whole night. After the heartfelt exchange, there was a half hour of testimonies of people who have really benefited from this place and then the graduates walked across the front and everyone clapped and it ended.

Afterwards: The guy who asked me out looked so worried after, like at any moment I was going to start yelling at him. I was very polite the whole way home, got out of his car, and never heard from him again.

Autobiography

Angela suggested doing a memoirs thing and I liked her setup of doing it with the members of the family. I commented on her blog whether it took a while to come up with positive things from her childhood, because the first things that pop into my mind are not.

• My dad. I only have a few memories of my dad before my parents got divorced. The one good one I have is of being in the van with Dad singing "there was a lady in the Ford, the prettiest lady you ever did see... and the engine in the Ford made the wheels go round. Honk-ity Honk Honk, beep beep." Unfortunately, my primary memory of my father is not a great one. I remember my parents fighting and I was in the play room. My dad came storming in there and out the back door, but he slammed it and it shattered. I said "Oh my G-word," and he came barreling down at me and spanked me many times, hard. It's not the spanking so much that I remembered as feeling like he obviously just hated me, because all the other siblings always talk about how dad never spanked them, even when mom told him to. As an adult I understand what happened but, as a child, I hated my dad, and hated that I craved his attention. It wasn't until after a couple years of being married that we started to have a good relationship. I love being around him now, and I love seeing how much fun my kids have with him. I wish we had the extra time and money to visit him more often.

• My mom. I don't remember much of mom either, she was always involved with Trisha, although I didn't realize it then. I remember her yelling at me from the kitchen because I left the cup full of snails I collected from the ditch on the counter to use in art projects later on and apparently they had tipped the cup over. Mom went in to make dinner and there were a hundred snails crawling across her counter and down the cabinets. The other time was when Aaron and I had caught some 50 or more grasshoppers and kept them in a 5 gal ice cream bucket. We didn't want them to suffocate while we went to get a knife to poke holes in the top so we left it cracked and then went in and got sidetracked by the television. Mom wasn't very happy when she found the playroom full of 3 inch grasshoppers. It took weeks before we got them all out.
  
• I also remember loving the time she spent with me one on one, after kindergarten got out and before we had to pick up Trisha from physical therapy. We would go to the ceramic store and she taught me the basics of painting. That time with her is probably why I am as crafty as I am. I think I might be the only one that was blessed to have one on one time with mom when I wasn't just a baby.
  

• Vaughn. Vaughn was my savior; I don't know how else to say it. Whenever those circumstances came up that made me acutely aware that my parents were divorced and I just wanted to give up and hate everyone then Vaughn showed up and everything would be ok again. The first instance was right after my parents got divorced. Angela and I had been invited to a party at the skating rink and Mom promised she would be home in time to take us, but she wasn't. We were a half hour late and it was only 1 1/2 hours long. That is the first time I remember thinking I hated my mom. Then Vaughn was just there. He said he would take us on his motorcycle, but he had to take two trips because he only had one helmet.
  
• The others were the Daddy Daughter Dates. I always asked dad if he would come but he never did. It was bad enough that my own dad wouldn't come to them with me, but instead of just letting me stay home and wallow in self pity, Mom always set it up to tag along with some other father daughter pair. I hated being a charity case. I was so excited when Vaughn said he would come, even though he had to drive from out of town, where ever he was. One time we weren't sure if he would make it, it was when Trisha was supposed to come too and she was always happy to go even if it was as a tag along. Mom said I had to go with her. So we went and everyone else was there having a great time with their dads and I hated it, I hated them, resented them, and then I saw Vaughn walking across the park to us. That meant the world to me. Vaughn, for as long as I can remember, you have always been the person I looked up to more than anyone else. Thank you.

• James. I only have one memory of James as a child. It was when he broke his leg. I remember sitting next to him on the floor watching TV, he had a fork or something he was using to scratch under his cast. Then, right next to me, out of his cast came the biggest centipede I had ever seen! It was bigger then my hand! Obviously, I remember it being at least 8 inches long, because my hand span is about that big, but most likely it was only 4 or 5 inches long; I was only about 5 at the time.

• Alisha. Alisha was my surrogate mother. She was who I ran to when Aaron was chasing me. She would help me off the stairs when Aaron would drag me up them by my ankles and leave me stuck in the middle of them. Alisha taught me how to roller skate when I was five. I remember Alisha taking me with her to Idaho when she went up there with a friend. She had bought a case of Mystics (is that what they were called) and let me drink as many as I wanted. She came to girls camp the first time I went just to make sure I had a good time. Alisha is the one that encouraged me to start college early; we had the same classes my first semester. We use to stop by 7-11 and get Slurpee's every day before Fitness for Life.
  

• Aaron. I idolized Aaron, still do for that matter. I have always thought he was the coolest person I have ever met. I, like Angela, had crushes on his friends when we lived in Idaho and also hated that he made me sit by the one I liked during family prayer so I had to hold his hand. I remember the hours spent in time out on the couch with Aaron because we wouldn't give each other a hug. I was jealous that he could sneak books and magazines during that time without Mom finding out and I would get caught every time (probably because Aaron told on me). And I remember being horrible embarrassed when Aaron teased me that he would tell on me for calling him a Dick during sacrament meeting. I believe I lied and that point and it came out in a lame "I didn't say that I said dork," but you could tell by my voice it wasn't true

• Angela. She talks about all the times she use to hit me and stuff, but I really don't remember any of that. In fact, I don't remember really even being around her until I was in junior high. During teen years we only hung out if we didn't have anyone else to hang out with. Then we both worked at the same place and were both at UVSC and we started getting along a lot better. I hated it when she moved to Nebraska, that's when I stopped being home ever. I preferred to work and dive into school then be home without Angela as a buffer. It was great having her back, even though she was going through hell. I love her kids. I remember Jeff having to get all his teeth pulled when he was 2 or 3 because he fell and hit them on the entertainment center. We all grew up, and Angela moved away. I miss her a lot. I miss her kids.

• Trisha. I honestly don't have a memory with Trisha in it before we moved to Utah. I have memories around her, like going to Uncle Ron's for Halloween while she was in the hospital, but I don't remember her. After we moved, I didn't make friends. Pua was my only friend for the last 3 years of elementary school. I took to playing with Trisha. We would play school with me as the teacher. After that we just fought. I remember mom yelling at me because Trisha threw one of those metal skates that go over your shoes at me. Mom said I shouldn't provoke her. I remember Dad making me give Trisha my last carnival ticket that I had been saving to ride the Ferris wheel so she could ride it after she used all of her tickets up. He said I was older and should show more responsibility; I think I was 11.

I don't remember going on any trips with all my siblings, though I do recall many with Alisha and younger. Trips to Disneyland with me sitting on the emergency brake and Aaron laying on the floor in the back seat of our little Honda. The trip to Disneyland when Alisha was like 8 months pregnant and the looks the ride people gave her when she went on them when it said not to. The trip with Alisha and Alec when he was 3 or 4. I think that was the year Toon Town opened. Alec was so scared of the door that makes noises (the electric factory door?). I remember running a trail at the Grand Canyon with Aaron, and during the same trip Aaron commenting on how a biker had a nice butt and he should smack her in the butt, then when we passed, everyone seeing it was a guy. I think the trips are my favorite memories, that's one of the reasons Jared and I make sure to put the money away to go to Disneyland, even though that money saved would get us into a house. I appreciate all the hard work mom did to make sure that we were able to go on those.

Kids Quirks

All three of my girls have said they are "busy" instead of "dizzy." And they didn't learn it from each other because the older one stopped doing it before the younger one started saying it.

Grace says "somepling" instead of "something."

Abi takes everything you say to her as an accusation and then yells it back at you. For instance: Abi, that's silly. "NO! YOU'RE silly." Abi, let's change your diaper, you're poopy. "NO! YOU'RE poopy." Come here Abi so we can was the cake off your face. "NO! YOU'RE cake face."

Abi stepped in something and it left a sticky spot on her foot that collected dirt. In the car she said that her foot was broken, but it's ok, because "other foots will grow."

Abi thinks anything she digs out of her ear is a "flower garden seed."

The battle for the minds of our children

I took Scout to school this morning, and Grace wanted to ride along. On the way there Grace says, "Daddy, half of my brain is nice and half of my brain is mean."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, last night, my left side (pointing to that side of her head) of my brain wanted to think about the Nightmare before Christmas, and my right side (pointing to the other side) just wanted to think about just Christmas. But my left side always gives me nightmares. Well, only at night. They always fight at night! Last night they were fighting."

Scout chimed in at this point "Who won?"

"Neither, I told them to stop fighting. And then it all just got mixed together. During the day they are nice though, they just play during the day. But they fight at night."

Best Pictures of 2007

I loved Brett's post so much that I decided we had better steal the idea and do one of our own. I would love to see all of you do it on your blogs too. I know I see very little of your family and would love to see more. So Tag, you are all it.

So I gave this to Abi thinking she would like it and she did, but every time she licked it, she cried because it was too cold. I tried to take it back but she wouldn't let me.

Abi rests up before tackling the second half of that piece of lunchmeat.

Grace's future in competitive donut-on-a-string eating seems to be in doubt.

You really have to click on this one to see it all. It is a little dark but I love how all the kids have simultaneous squeals of delight at the fireworks.

Gotta love pool pictures.

Time to bust out that ugly stick.

Disneyland. See? It really IS the happiest place on earth.

What cookie?

Ready to go

Today Abi asked if she could go play outside. I told her that she had to get pants on, her coat on, and her boots on. She told me she already had her "boobs on." I couldn't see her feet, but I didn't think she had her boots on yet, so I asked her "You do? Let me see." I thought I would turn around to see her holding her foot up. Instead she proceeded to pull her shirt down to show me that, yes, she did indeed have her boobs on.

Jared, I had to edit your post, it was severely lacking in story telling skills.

Husband Tag

I tag Angela, Amy, Debra, and Carrie
What is his name? Jared
Nicknames? Dad
How long have you been married? 7 years
How long did you date? 6 months
How old is he? 30
Who eats more sweets? Usually me, but Jared has been catching up lately
Who said "I love you" first? He did
Who is taller? He is, by 3 inches
Who can sing better? He does, adult me can't sing
Who is smarter? Jared, everything comes so naturally for him, I have to study like crazy
Who does the laundry? Nobody lately, but I do usually
Who pays the bills? I do
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Facing the bed, Jared does
Who mows the lawn? Nobody has for a few months, but so far this summer it's Brittney - at least 5, Jared - 0
Who cooks dinner? If it's cooked it was me, if it's been thrown together it was Jared, which has been more often lately
Who drives? Jared
Who is more stubborn? I am, except when it comes to saying sorry when it's both of our fault, then Jared is
Who kissed who first? I did, but Jared asked
Who asked who out first? Jared asked me to come to a movie night with his friends, and then only Ben ended up coming. But he invited me over and made dinner for me a couple days later.
Who proposed? He did, but I said the "M" word first, three days after the dinner date.
Who has more siblings? I do, I have 6, Jared has 5
Who wears the pants? I think we figured out that two different pairs of pants works best

Battles Worth Fighting

So I read this post on someone's blog and it made me think. Do I really distinguish between battles that are worth fighting and ones that aren't? There are some for me that are given, but do I fight others that I probably shouldn't be wasting time on?

So here is my off the cuff list of:

Battles (not) worth fighting

1. Manners - Worth the fight. This is one of those battles that there are days (like today with Grace) that we are completely loosing. The point is not to give up right, that we, as adults are ultimately more stubborn then our children, so eventually they will fall into line. That is the hope at least, however, four year old girls have been our biggest problem area (so far).

2. School Attendance - Not worth the fight. I know there are a lot of people that disagree with me on this one, but I figure your child can have 15 absences before you get in any real trouble (Jared missed three months before any one called his parents) so if my kids are having a rough day and don't want to go to school, who cares? However, this only applies to abscences I know about (call it "controlled abscences"). Skipping school to hang out with friends - Worth the fight.

3. Homework- Not worth the fight. Scout goes to school 6 hours a day, why should she then spend two hours doing homework outside of school? i think if she has been in school that long and wants to come home and play outside or read a chapter book or even play her sea exploration video game then she can. I am not going to make her spend an hour looking for her ten spelling words in a magazine. That's just stupid. We do however spend a half hour reviewing Spanish and spelling words (in non magazine fashion) along with her Fast Forward Reading program. (Have you guys heard of this? It reminds me of my mom, I am sure she would agree with this program, and for Grace I think it would be great but for Scout it's just busy work and it drives me crazy to have to do it for 10 minutes every night. Although, Scout does enjoy the actual rhymes.)

4. Clothes, Matching - Not worth the fight. Clothes, Modesty - Worth the fight.

5. Eating (what) - Worth the fight. Eating (when) - Not worth the fight. My kids have to eat what we give them, and try some of everything. If they aren't hungry they don't have to eat, as long as they know that when they do get hungry they still have to eat the same thing.

6. Church - Worth the fight. Once they can stay home alone they won't have to go to church, but I figure if they are going to break the sabath by not going to church then it won't matter if they break it more by cleaning the whole time they are home.

7. Language - Worth the fight. Right now our naughty words are "stupid" and "rude" but it will evolve to age appropriate stuff. The Lord's name is always against the rules, but in general we ignore most naughty words unless they start getting used often.

8. Piercings- Not worth the fight, after age 8. I had to wait until I was 8 to get my ears peirced so my girls will have to wait too. That way they will remember how much it hurts. Then if they want to get more, and a small guilt trip about the prophet saying you shouldn't have more then one doesn't work, then fine. The nice thing about piercings is that you can always take them out and no one notices they were there.

9. Hair - Not worth the fight. It's hair, you can always cut it shorter or dye it a different color. I shaved my head when I was 22 and I have thought about doing it again. And if Scout wants pink hair then I'll even dye it for her, as long as it's in the summer because the school doesn't allow excentric hair colors. Personally, I've always wanted bright blue, at least on the ends, but think I have probably gotten too old, if not in age then in personality, to do it.

10. Seat belts, Shots, and Swimming Lessons - Worth the fight. I stole this one because I completely agree. My kids have never had a problem with not wearing their seat belts, but I look at other people with their kids climbing over the seats when they are driving and it reminds me why this is worth the fight. Safety first, but, come one, those kids are annoying me, how could they possibly not be annoying thier parents?

What's Your Sign?

I find it interesting how closely our family matches their signs. Is it just us or does your family fall into their signs too?

Abi is a Taurus: The Bull
While she is still pretty young to get a good sense of how much of her actions are her personality verses just being a two year old, there are several things that clearly label her as a Taurus.

They experience the world through their senses. They like the way things taste, feel, sound, and smell.
We can't walk by a candle without Abi smelling it, and if it's a candle shelf we have to stop for her to smell every one of them or she gets very frustrated. She use to eat sand, and not just as a baby, she just barely stopped doing it. She ate sand and dirt far longer then either of our other girls.

They love to eat, from the moment they are born.
I am sure several of you remember Abi sitting in the high chair for over an hour because people were willing to keep feeding her. You would think that she would be really over weight, but she's normal for our two year olds.

Practical and good with money.
Abi can't leave money on the floor when she sees it. The other girls will play with it and then loose interest. Abi finds money and insists that you put it in your pocket so it won't get lost.

They aren't hurried, in fact they are down right slow. Don't expect them to pick up the pace; it's just not going to happen.
I think this drives Jared crazy. We walked to the ice cream store yesterday and Jared was so frustrated that Abi was so slow. She was just taking her time, looking at everything, collecting "wish flowers", balancing on and then sliding down the curb. Once we got to the store she just kept asking for samples, she really wanted to just have a taste of all of them.



Grace is a Pisces: The Dreamer
A deeply creative imagination.

Tender, compassionate and need extra affection.
Grace is our cuddeler. She is also in love with babies. When she was two she use to look at everyone's babies and say "Your baby is so tute" and then to go along with her imagination she would add "He thinks I'm a giant but I'm really not. I'm just Grace."

More interested in their dreams or fantasies then in real life. Pisces have grand visions of the way life could and should be, which will then fall flat in the harsh light of reality.
This drives me crazy. I can plan this big birthday party, do a ton of stuff for it and when you ask Grace if she liked her birthday she says "Just a little. It was only a little fun." She just gets it in her head what it should be (last time she was thinking at a princess party all of the princesses at Disneyland were going to come and bring her presents), and when it doesn't end up happening the way she thought, she is disappointed.

Emotionally sensitive.
Grace has been coming in crying lately because she hears people talking about her. Last week she came in saying that the neighbor and his parents said she is rude and said not to play with her. What probably happened was Kyler and Grace both wanted to do something different and since she wouldn't do what he wanted he told his parents she was being rude. So his mom said what I would have said, "If she's being rude then go play with someone else and don't play with her." But she heard, "Grace is rude, don't play with her."


Scout is a Gemini: An Agile Mind

Communicative, charming, and social. If she starts talking at an early age, she's just living up to her nature.
Scout has always been a great talker; she talked early and she has always been particular about pronouncing things correctly.

Always surrounded with books and puzzles.
We go into her room at 7 am to wake her up for school and she is laying in bed reading. She has been reading chapter books lately. She reads them faster then we can get them. So far her favorite are the Pony Crazed Princess books, anyone have any other suggestions?

Mood changes in the blink of an eye.
All my girls are like this a little but Scout does it seemingly without reason and constantly.

Gemini excel at cerebral endeavors like reading, writing, and debate, as well as anything requiring dexterity, such as playing the piano (and video games?)
Grace does beat her at debate at the moment because when Grace sees she is loosing on a logical stance, she reverts to "well Jesus knows everything and he knows this is how it is" or "the Holy Ghost told me." Scout hasn't figured out a comeback for that yet,but I am sure it's just a matter of time.

Due to their variety of interests, Gemini tend to have many friends and will often be the center of the circle.
Every time I pick up Scout she is talking to someone new. I ask her who they are and she always says "oh I don't remember their name and they aren't in my class." She just meets people, which just astounds me because I have seen her be so shy around people but apparently it doesn't stop her from making friends. Often the friend she hangs out with at school are several years older then her.

I'm an Aquarius: A Different Drummer

I thought my horiscope described me pretty well:
-You've always loved group gatherings, but sometimes all the warm, fuzzy, touchy-feely stuff can make you uncomfortable.

Just a few points that seem to fit me:
-Strongly imaginative and psychically intuitive.
-Friendly and social but doesn't make friends easily.
-Dislike interference by others, however helpfully intended, and will accept it only on their own terms.
-Need to retire from the world at times and to become temporary loners.

Jared is also a Pisces: The Dreamer

It's probably that he is so similar to Grace that he simpathizes so much with her. He lets her come to bed with us because he remembers having bad dream and needing to cuddle. I think Jared more matched his sign when we were dating. Part of me thinks I have ruined him because he's not as understanding of others as he use to be, although he still is probably much more compassionate then me.

They are never egotistical in their personal relationships and give more than they ask from their friends.

If you can't think of the right word, make one up.

A couple of days ago in the car Grace was making up a song. In the middle of her song she used the word "farnaleece" (or something like that). She stopped singing and explained "That means 'Sorry, I didn't mean to be mean to your baby butterflies.'"

I can't think of a lot of scenarios where you would use this word, but Grace found one in her song.

The Ten Best Things About Having Kids

#10 That smell definately didn't come from you, even if it did.

#9 You no longer have to look like a freak for talking to yourself at the grocery store. People just think you are talking to your kids.

#8 There is always someone else you can blame for your missing keys.

#7 Tax deductions.

#6 An opportunity to write Santa a Christmas List, just in case.

#5 It's nice to know at least SOMEONE thinks you're funny.

#4 You are pegged with mad cooking skills because you can make "Mommy's" or "Daddy's Surprise."

#3 An opportunity to experience life all over again, with slightly more control.

#2 They are good for a laugh pretty much any time you need it.

#1 Kisses and hugs given with unabashed love just for YOU.

Who Left the Newspaper in Their Pants Pocket?

I went to switch the laundry today and there is paper covering EVERYTHING. Now I have left my share of papers in my pockets and then washed them but this was ridiculous. I may as well have paper machete-ed the entire load of laundry. I emptied the load into the dryer and what do you think I found at the bottom of the washing machine? A hardback library book cover. Just the cover. It was the book Jared had checked out "The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier and Clay." I think it's around 500-600 pages long. It completely disintegrated in my washing machine. Now I don't know how it got in my washing machine, but I am really not looking forward to paying the library for it. I'm really hoping it ends up being a once in a lifetime experience.

Why did you marry?

Last friday I brought Brittney some flowers and the kids were asking why. We explained that we were celebrating the day we got married.

Since then about 6 times a day Abi has been asking me "Why did you marry?"

I thought I'd answer that question here. It's a couple days late Brittney, sorry.

I married Brittney because she's the coolest girl I know. In support of this I offer the following facts:

She loves to read, but she likes good books, not schmaltzy romance.
She loves action and comic book movies.
She likes my friends and fits in with them.
She has a great sense of humor, she only gets offended when things are truly offensive.
She is good at literally everything she really tries. I'm not exaggerating. If she puts effort into something she usually does it better than anybody else I've ever known.
She's an amazing cook, and always trying new things.
She is constantly trying to improve herself.
She loves good music. Roger Clyne, The Shins, etc... Not a hint of Celine Dion or Mariah Carey on any of her playlists.
She has an unshakable testimony of the gospel.
She sees connections I don't see. I can't count the number of times we've been discussing some gospel principle and she will tie two scriptures together that I never considered to be related. But when she points out the connection it brings insight to me that is profound. I love listening to her talk about the scriptures.
She's way smarter than I am.
She takes the responsibility of raising our children very seriously. She does creative things with the kids all the time. She takes the time to include the kids.
She is loving without being smothering.
She challenges me to be better.
She is smokin hot. :)

Brittney isn't overly sentimental (something else I love about her) and she always views herself as being much less than she really is, so I'm guessing she's going to disagree on some of the things I've said. I just want her to know that I'm not saying she's perfect. Just like every marriage there are stresses, and disagreements. Just like any person she has flaws (far fewer than I have, by orders of magnitude). But it doesn't matter. She is perfect for me. One of the first things I noticed when Brittney and I got together was that she made me feel calm. I don't know how to explain it fully. When we sat next to each other I felt quiet in my soul. She felt like home.

Our lives on this planet are full of chaos and noise. Tension and stress and guilt and yearning for more. Brittney is my antidote . At the end of the day when we are sitting around the dinner table, or sitting together and watching tv, or laying in bed talking, or walking together at the grocery store, it's the same as those first few weeks of dating. She calms me. I feel the wrinkles of the day being smoothed out. She probably doesn't know this. Sometimes I'm very quiet when I get home from work. Sometimes it's because I'm in a bad mood. But more often it's just that I'm absorbing that feeling. I need more of her, not more of me. I'm sick of me. I'm never sick of her.

I married Brittney for all of these reasons and a million others. I married her (and would again in a heartbeat) because I love her with my whole soul and want to be with her forever.

Happy 7th anniversary. By far the best 7 years of my life. Our worst times together are still better than my best times without you.

Love you forever and always.

Memories Like the Corner of My Mind

Ok, I read this one off of Cody's blog and it made me laugh because I saw it on Seriously So Blessed, but not as a tag thing, just as a "brag about me" thing.


1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Abi

Jared says: "My 'talking to a toddler' voice sounds unbelievably dorky."

Q and A

Abi asked me this morning how our black/gray rug was made (which is currently, and probably permanently, covered in dog hair). I told her I didn't know. Grace said she knew how. "When dogs like ours drop their hair, they just pick it up and make it into a rug." She may be right, it really does look that way. We bought it because it attracts dirt, I didn't realize that meant it would be impossible to clean the dirt and hair off.

Gotta Love Commercials

Apparently Scout is highly susceptible to commercials. For instance:

She spilled something on her clothes and was upset. I told her not to worry about it; it will come out when I wash it. She said to me "Oh yeah, we should buy Tide with Bleach because it works really well to get stains out."

This morning she was sucking on her hair while reading and said out loud while putting her hair behind her ear, "I shouldn't chew on my hair because it makes it so I can't get it apart and it makes it really hard to brush. We should get the new Dove, because it helps to get the tangles out."

Jared's additions:

"A week or so ago Grace was crying that she needed a band-aid for some scratch she found, that apparently didn't hurt until she saw it. I told her that the band-aid doesn't actually make it stop hurting. Scout was indignant. "Band-aid brand does daddy, it makes it heal faster, you don't even know." I told her she shouldn't believe everything she sees on tv.

Fast forward to last night, we took the kids to Chuck E Cheese. As we were walking in the kids were all excited. Apparently the reality lived up to the commercials for Scout because she said to me "See Daddy? I told you commercials don't lie!""

Things I would like to go 24 hours without saying

Leave Abi alone!

Flush the toilet.

Did you wash your hands?

Get out of the car!

Will you just go play.

You had the pink plate/bowl/cup last time.

How can you be hungry again? You just ate!

Shut the door.

Don't play with the blinds.

Turn the sound down on the computer.

Stop whining at me!

Obviously we need to have quiet time today.

No, we are not making play dough today.

I said no.

I already said no, so now I'm not going to listen to you anymore.

Jared, when are you going to be home?!

You can't complain about your food when you haven't even tasted it yet.

Yes you can go outside.

Stop coming in and out.

Heavenly Father, help me to stop yelling at my kids.

Challenge the Mighty Titan and His Stupid Horse, family style

That's my favorite misheard lyric that I have heard of, but we have some good ones ourselves, both of lyrics and sayings.

Girls "Into the pickle pit"
Actual "into the thick of it"
(We try to correct these things, but they are just adamant they are correct.)

Girls "Heffalumps and woosles are scary so scary. Heffalumps and woosles are the same!"
Actual "Heffalumps and woosles are very pecuzzels..." and the next line I don't know.

Grace "I am a child of God, and so my knees are great."
Actual "I am a child of God, and so my needs are great."
("Grace your knees are great?" She looks back at me and shrugs with an expression that says "I guess so, that's what they told me." We should have more songs about being made in God's image. At least Grace will always know her knees are.)

Not that the kids have had a monopoly on the misheard lyrics. Jared and (especially)I have some pretty good ones of our own.

Scout "Celebration Time. Come On! It's a celebration."
Jared's as a kid "Celebreaker times. Come On! It's a celebration" (He says he just assumed that was a word that meant it was just a really awesome party.)
Actual "Celebrate good times. Come on! It's a celebration."

Brittney "Give me the Beach Boys and free my soul."
Actual "Give me the beat, boys, and free my soul."
(If you want the aha moment story you'll have to ask Jared, he thinks it's hilarious, but he's usually polite enough not to tell it around me, because it's horribly embarrassing. He can post it if you all would like but you are forbidden to actually hear the story around me. However, teasing is acceptable.)

Brittney "I might hum every day, and I'll send all my lovin' to you."
Actual "I'll write home every day" which makes a little more sense then humming. (Another one Jared thinks is hilarious. I know that's not what it says now, but I still sing it that way. I started singing it that way when I was 5, old habits are hard to break.)

Irrational Fears and OCD Moments

I should probably have put OCD moments as it's very own post because of the large number of them that I have. Although, I was talking to Jeff and Debra, we were discussing if it was really an OCD moment if you have a reason for doing it. Personally, I have a reason for every one, but who knows, maybe the person that has to "punish" everything that might touch her has a completely justifiable reason for doing that, but doesn't go around telling everyone what it is. Just because one person doesn't have to do it for that reason doesn't mean it's an absurd behavior, but maybe I just think that because I have so many.


Irrational Fears

I think my biggest two fears are 1)that I will die and my kids will have to grow up with all the problems of loosing a mom causes 2) that one of my children will die. I especially get that second one when I am pregnant. I never want to have to live through a newborn dying, although, in all honestly it would probably be easier then one of my other three dying.

So enough of that morbid seriousness. I, too, have a couple horror scene fears. Then all stem from being afraid of the dark, or more appropriately, being afraid of being alone in the dark. I hate driving home at night by myself. I always feel like someone is watching me from the back seat of the van and out my rear view mirror it looks like there is someone in the back seat. I'll turn around and be even more convinced that someone is just sitting there until I drive under a street lamp and realize the creepy guy's silhouette is just one of the girls booster seats with the headrest. I know that they are there but every time I get in the car by myself I still go through the whole thing thinking that maybe he hides behind the seat when I check getting into the car and the sits and waits for me to notice after I start the car, then will just sit there with a crazy grin until I pull into a parking spot when he pounces and does who knows what to me.

The other one is very similar, but not with a live being. Ever since I was like 9 I have been imagining these evil spirits around me, sometimes I think I see them, just maliciously grinning at me and following me, or 10 year old girls walking barefoot in a nightgown down the freeway. I catch movement out the corner of my eye and look and nothing is there but it makes me think of them. That's the main reason I have a dog, to keep me company at night. I just tell my self that animals are really perceptive and would notice if a ghost was trying to kill me, just maliciously following me around.

Then I have the normal irrational fear of giant alien slugs crawling into my ear to lay eggs in my brain. (Did anyone see that movie? Not that I am recommending it.) I think that maybe earwigs are the drones of those giant alien slugs, put on earth to see if in fact they can get into people ears and lay eggs (also one of my fears).

And bug-wise, I am afraid of inhaling bug eggs and getting them up my sinuses where they hatch and burrow into my skull. (Did you guys see that documentary? We watched it in one of my biology classes in college. Do teachers just think that is funny to instill horrific fears in their students?) So I always think about that when I get a really bad sinus infection.

OCD Moments

Carrie, I bet when you gave me this subject you didn't think it would be this long. So like I said I have a ton of these, so I won't give any of my reasons for them. However, if you are curious, let me know, I am completely willing to justify my "freak" characteristics.

-If you ask for a bite of my sandwich or hamburger, don't take it from the middle.

-If someone does my hair and there is a little tiny bump in it or the pigtails are just slightly different heights, I will take it out, even if it took you a half hour to do it.

-I can't handle wrinkles in the sheets on my bed (top or bottom). So if it is wrinkled and you are asleep and it's 3 in the morning, you still have to wake up and get out of the bed so I can remake it. But don't worry, it only takes about 15 minutes.

-The blanket on the bed has to be even, equidistant from the top or I have to remake the bed. Turns out Abi has this exact same quirk.

-Clothes have to hang just right. If there's a problem with the way it was sewn or cut I won't wear it, or if it is just that my body makes it hang slightly off I won't wear it (just so you know, if you have ever thought about buying me clothes, don't, I won't wear it, I have to try 50 things on before I find one that fits right). My mom finds this insufferable, especially when she makes me something because I make her adjust it 50 times until it feels just right. It's not something you can see, it just doesn't FEEL right. It does mean I spend very little on clothes for me though.

-If something is even a little course or itchy I won't wear it.

-There is a correct distance to sit between everyone, and a particular way to sit close to someone. If you adjust we have to start over so if you sit close to me, just don't move please.

I am sure I have others but that's all that comes quickly to mind. I am positive if I left anything major out Jared will mention it in the comments.

My favorite spots, or maybe just my least productive ones.

As a kid I would curl up with my book on the kitchen floor by the sink. It was warm there and no one could see me because of the bar. I would spend hours there reading with the heater blowing on me through the vent. I think it was my insecurities that made me do it. If nobody can find you, nobody can yell at you, or make you go do chores. Plus it was nice to have a "hiding place" that I wouldn't get in trouble for being in. If mom was looking for me I could finish the page I was on and then stand up. She would jump and ask me how long I have been down there for. Just a little while (lie, the real answer was since the last meal got cleaned up, so a few hours). She would look at me like I was crazy. Why don't you read on the couch?

It was like my own private cave. The book help, too, letting me escape my own life and pretend I was someone else, someone more interesting, more in control. I realize that I have wasted a lot of my time daydreaming while reading books so I didn't have to deal with my life. If I had (or even would) just taken the time I daydream to get control of my life maybe I wouldn't be so insecure and overwhelmed. Often, I still feel like that young teenager that wishes I was someone else, someone more interesting, someone in control.

I still find that my favorite spots are hiding spots, most often for different reasons, though on occasion not. Now my favorite spots are out on my porch in the early mornings with my scriptures, or my bedroom, when it's clean, laying on the bed talking and joking around with Jared. When my hard times hit, I still go to the floor but in the bathroom now because my kids are much better seekers and more persistent then my mom and sisters were. Thank goodness for doors with locks.

Monday's Rant

Coming back to the daily grind of the weekend is always an adjustment, especially when it has been a four day weekend. I did well this morning getting to the gym and getting the kitchen cleaned before taking the girls to swimming this morning. We came home and I started looking for something for lunch. That's when the realization came. I hate making lunches.

Lunch is my least favorite meal to make of the day. Dinner is a given that I have to do something for it, that's why I make menus and buy all the food we need. Breakfasts are easy too, cereal of the hot or cold variety, occasionally eggs or pancakes. But lunch? And you never PLAN things for lunch, you just figure you can find something, leftovers or something quick. Since I don't plan my lunches I don't buy anything for them. It doesn't help lately we usually we only have leftovers of things our girls don't like, otherwise it would be all gone. So what's for lunch? It's a daily crap shoot.

Thank goodness for the power of excitement with children. It's the only way we get through lunch. Daddy's surprise, which consists of eggs, ground beef, and what ever noodle leftover are in the fridge. Mommy's surprise: Leftover noodles, leftover sauce of some sort, add cheese, mix in leftover mac and cheese or anything else that might be in the fridge at the moment. Not my favorite meals to make or eat, but the kids seem to like it, although it's beyond me as to why.

A Bunch of Sissies

I asked Abi if she was going to go upstairs with her sissies to play. She said, yes "and I a sissy too. And Grace a sissy and Scout a sissy and my friend a sissy too."

Random Kid Quotes

In the car on the way to the Mordecai family reunion:

Scout: "When I was a baby I didn't know if Grandpa's were crazy or not!"

In the car on the way to the 4th of July party at Amy's house:

Grace: "I'm sad that President Hinckley died"
Scout: "I'm sad that Jack died"
Grace: "I'm sad that Jack and President Hinckley and his wife died"
Abi: "I'm scared of Lions."

During the opening credits of The Neverending Story, upon seeing the title for the first time:

Scout:"Oh no! This is going to take forever!"

My Sidetracked Stay-at-Home Mom Confessional

Somehow, in my upbringing, I missed learning the basic maintenance skills like how to keep a house clean (or a room, or even my own self for that matter). I grew up waiting till the last minute to do anything and then got really good at grabbing everything and dumping it somewhere no one will see, usually my room. One thing I have always been good at is keeping my closet clean. The trick is to drop it in the middle of the floor instead of stashing it in the closet. So here I am admitting the gross inadequacies and horror stories of my life in hopes of being cleared of them and starting over.

-I stopped using Tupperware after throwing it all away because I was always afraid of it, sitting in the back of my fridge for who knows how long. Now I use plastic bags.
-Every morning I "crisis clean" my house because it's a complete disaster by that night. I of course don't deal with it during my alone time in the evening so I have to deal with it in the morning.
-I am guilty of searching the dirty clothes for a "clean enough" pair of socks, of smelling the laundry in my washing machine to see if it smells too bad to put in the dryer, and of putting on perfume because I am not sure when the last time I showered was but I didn't have time to do it right then.
-Not only have I stashed dirty dishes in the oven, I have also put a whole bucket filled with dirty dished into an EMPTY dishwasher.
-I write wonderful Christmas cards to all my family every year but have never gotten around to sending them. Although I have thought about just sending them despite it being the end of January.
-I have to have Internet access because I don't keep up on balancing my checkbook.
-When I get really fed up with a messy house I rearrange and Jared comes home with half the furniture moved and a pile of junk in the middle of the room with me nowhere in sight.
-I spend hours making grocery lists and don't remember to bring them with me shopping. This also applies to every other kind of list I have too.

Weekly Log... Just skip it, I won't blame you.

Things have been pretty crazy this last week. We started some of our summer activities. All of my girls really enjoy going to the kids cooking class at Macey's. They especially love going with Amy and her kids. We missed getting to the library to start the summer reading program there but we did get over to Scout's school to get her started on the summer home reading program that has continued from the school year. It's really nice having other people just give you the books that are on your kids reading level. I have been having a hard time finding interesting ones on her level at the library; it takes a lot of sorting to find ones that are just right for her and not so long that she gets tired of reading it.

We went camping on Thursday but got rained out so packed up on Friday and went to Pocatello to stay the night with family. Grace loves "Emily Elizabeth" and the entire drive home she kept saying that she doesn't want to leave. Grace even said that "Emily Elizabeth is my best friend, and that is the best name ever. I'm going to name one of my daughters Emily Elizabeth." Scout said with a shy giggle that she is going to marry Joe. That's the first time she has decided that, so obviously she liked him a lot. I think when she gets a little older she is going to realize it's not going to happen, but it's nice to see they are friends. Like always we didn't take pictures but there were some cute set ups. Abi loved playing with Will. Will cracks me up, everything he said made me laugh, either because of what he said or the way he said it. I will take a little boy if it can be Will.

Saturday we went to Rexburg to watch Micheal in the Special Olympics. He did a great job and we were glad to have the chance to see him. We spent the night in Sugar City with Deb's family. We weren't sure at first if it would be fun for our girls because they have mainly older kids, but they LOVED it! They spent all night and half of the next day dressing up in all the costumes they have from their singing group. I even heard Travis talking to Scout, which very well might be the first time I have heard him speak. It was really nice to spend time with their family with just us there; I'm just not talkative in larger groups.

Sunday we went back to Pocatello to say goodbye and then headed home. We got home and Jared had to leave to get the dog from the kennel. We didn't get the car unpacked until after Jared left for work on Monday. That wasn't my favorite thing of the week, unpacking the car by myself with everything wet and muddy. With the cooking class, party errands, and laundry, I didn't get around to setting the tent up. Didn't get to it today either because of everything that needed to get done for Scout's party. So tomorrow I am apparently setting up our tent, hopefully it doesn't rain because I'm not sure but I don't think you are supposed to let your wet tent sit in the bag for a week.

Grandpa's Birthday Card

We decided to send my dad a birthday card from Disneyland. It took forever to choose just one of the post cards. We ended up getting the one Grace wanted. She told us that we could get this one and send it to Grandpa and he could put tape on it and tape it to his head so it looks like he is wearing a Mickey Mouse hat. She was so excited to send that one. I made a note that he should do it and send a picture back so Grace could see it. Grace was so excited that he did. She thought that was great. So thanks for the pictures Dad and Happy Birthday. By the way, I just had the thought that you might have sent a gift to Abi for her birthday but the post office lost some of our mail so if you did we didn't get it, so that's why we didn't say thanks. We love you!

Tuesdays Stink

Today didn't really start with a bang either. Abi has been sick for the last 5 days, throwing up everyday, is having bowel problems (not bough Debra), and has a moderate fever. Boy has she been a crank. The weird thing is that every one else has been fine. Anyway, Abi slept in this morning, in spite of the girls jumping on the bed right next to her in fits of screaming laughter. I was downstairs putting the laundry in and the girls start yelling "Mom Abi threw up three times on her hand and her pillow." The proceeded to tell me that they didn't give her the throw up bowl that has become her personal accessory because Abi was between them and it and they didn't want to get near her because it smells bad. So I change Abi, put the whole pillow in the laundry room to be washed (see maybe I should have put off doing laundry, then I would have been able to throw it in the wash right away instead of it making my bathroom smell), and go wash my hands. I was bringing Abi downstairs to eat breakfast and she said to me "I want to go to Disneyland." That made me smile. She asked to get into the stroller, which is currently outside being rained on and I told her so. She asked if she could ride her toy train and I told her she could. She got on it and then said, "Push me to Disneyland."

Things I didn't like this week
~Abi throwing up all the time, particularly on the way to or from dropping Scout off at school. It's hard to drive and try to hold a throw up bowl for her. It ends up that only about half of it actually gets in the bowl, the other half all over her and the car seat.
~Not being able to do anything all week because Abi wants to be held constantly. It's nice for a little while but after a few hours and 5 days I really have other things to do.
~The mail losing our paycheck, which is now 12 days overdue and Jared has been so slammed at work that he can't get over to the office to get another one reissued.
~Scout's song "Mommy is so rude"
~The dog we got from Alisha breaking the crate and ransacking the upstairs, chewing and breaking a big piece of my cedar chess off and ripping the carpet up in Scout's room so we are that much farther from ever being able to move. We sent him back.
~Jared being stress out at work and us both taking our stresses out on each other.

Things I have discovered this week
~Murphy is turning out to be an excellent dog in his middle age. He no longer pulls you off your feet to get to other people or dogs. We can have people over to our house without any problems from him. He respects the line of not going upstairs and has never ruined anything in our house.
~It's easier to keep the books cleaned up in the girls room when you have a book shelf.
~We will probably be living here for another three years.
~If you miss your kid's birthday, it's hard to find a day to make it up.

Things I enjoyed this week
~Mom watching the two girls while Jared and I went to Ikea with Abi, although I didn't enjoy her puking twice while we were there.
~Having the two girls rooms clean and the bunk beds separated.
~Getting the tax rebate to cover our check till we get another one and also to pay for getting the carpet replaced. That's a mixed enjoy thing, I am glad we have it for that because I don't know how we would cover it otherwise, but we were hoping to get things paid off with it, so it's pretty much that we just didn't get anything.
~Cuddling with Abi.

Things I am looking forward to this week
~Having a night out on Friday.
~Going to see Indiana Jones on Saturday.
~My book club getting together on Saturday.
~No school or work on Monday.
~BBQ at Amy's on Monday (I hope it's good weather)
~Hopefully Abi getting over being sick.
~My house not smelling like throw up anymore.

Sea World

Usually Sea World is my favorite thing to do on our trip, but this time we went on Sunday instead of Tuesday and it was busy. I hate going anywhere when it is busy. Since it was busy we didn't get any really good pictures. We only went to the dolphin show and the killer whale show.



Abi was still sick and had a fever. She just sat there the whole time.



The baloogas are always one of my girls favorite. They sit or stand forever looking at them. Last time we went we got a great picture of Scout with them, but there were too many people crouding around this time that they couldn't even get to the glass to see them under water.







We got to feed the seals and the sting rays. When feeding the seals a bird came and grabbed the fish right out of Abi's hand. We almost got the picture right as it happened.



Scout wouldn't feed anything because she didn't want to touch a dead fish. She did finally attempt to feed the sting rays by pinching the very end of the fish tail but she kept dropping it as soon an the ray swam past. Grace loved the sting rays. She sat and touched them forever and didn't want to leave.





Scout's favorite is the tide pool. She loves to touch the star fish.

Playing at Disneyland

There is nothing better then relaxing and just goofing around at Disneyland. We didn't do much of this when I was a kid, but it is one of the best parts about being at Disneyland with my family. The favorite place to just play this time was at Tom Sawyer's Island, they loved the pirate theme and had to try everything out. It was fun exploring all the caves and just splashing in the water. Grace wanted to get on every stationary prop in the whole park and have her picture taken like 10 times on it, leading the other girls to wanting an equal portion in the picture taking.

Disneyland Pictures

These are just the posed pictures that we took. We got pictures with a lot more characters this time then we have before. We didn't get around to going to the princess line though. Personally, I think that was a horrible idea. I am much more likely to stand in five 10 minute lines to see the princesses then to stand in one hour long line to see them all at once.

Our little coaster enthusiasts

I know what you are all thinking. Not another post about Jared's kids' affinity for circular condensation catchers. But don't worry. I'm not talking about that kind of coaster. I'm talking about roller coasters!

All 3 of our girls are big fans of thrill rides. Abi isn't tall enough to ride any of them except for the drops on Pirates of the Carribbean, the Matterhorn, and the small toontown coaster, Gadget's Go Coaster. However she loved all of them and eventually rode every one of them with her arms up the whole time.

Here are a few videos of the girls enjoying (in a shrieking manner) the coasters of Disneyland. Sorry I didn't have time to edit them, so there will be bits where it's too dark to see anything, and a few seconds of my shoes as I try to turn the camera off with my sausage link fingers.

(as a sidenote, pay no attention to the big fat guy you will occasionally get glimpses of. The camera adds like...40 pounds. It's a scientific fact.)

Gadget's Go Coaster was a favorite for pretty much everyone. As little kid coasters go, it's actually fun.

Here is one of Grace not really enjoying The Matterhorn, but Scout and Abi liked it. You can't really see Abi, but she's there sitting in front of Brittney.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was probably Scout and Grace's favorite ride this trip. Our last day in the park we went on it about 9 times. I have a couple videos of this ride, but this one was my favorite.

They both love Space Mountain too, but that one is way too dark for video.

There will be more disneyland posts coming. Stay tuned!

Dateline: Disneyland

I'm writing this from my cell phone so I hope it works. I haven't been able to get actual internet access from the hotel yet.
It's been an interesting start to our trip. We had an uneventful drive, with an equally uneventful stopover in mesquite. Thursday we spent several hours in the park and had a great time even though it was a little busy. It's great to be back here.

Thursday night things got interesting. Abi started throwing up in the middle of the night every half an hour until morning. Everybody else woke up feeling fine, but about an hour later Grace threw up twice. We waited around for awhile but the puking didn't resume so we headed over to the park, assuming it must've been some mild food poisoning or something.

About three hours later Abi decorated herself, Brittney and the inside of the Monsters, Inc. ride cab with strawberry gogurt enhanced gogurgitation.

Brittney bought her and Abi some new clothes and we kept on trucking.

No more puking after that yesterday.

Today we had a great time at the beach, then when we got back to the hotel this evening Scout started complaining that her stomach hurt. About an hour later she started in with the upchuckage. During her fifth round Abi, Pukemaster General of our little vomit brigade, suddenly sat up and threw up all over the bed.

So after a call to housekeeping for new bedding, and getting everyone to sleep, I am now keeping watch at midnight with bucket at the ready. Abi has tossed her proverbial cookies several times now tonight, casting doubt on our theory that it was a fast moving bug that only lasts about 12 hours.

So now my question is, who out there has puking kids? Who got us sick before our trip? Come on now. Fess up.

By the way, it hasn't been all nastiness. We have some great pictures and video to post once I can get the computer online as opposed to just my cell.

Highlights have included Grace nearly tackling Mickey when she saw him, Scout and Grace riding Gadget's go coaster with each other in their own car (awesome video!) and Scout watching the electrical parade in a state of pure joy.

Keep your fingers crossed that the sickness goes away soon so we can enjoy the rest of our trip.

Off to Neverland!!

In about an hour we'll be on the road on our way to the happiest place on earth. All our girls were up early this morning to let us know that today is the day.

We'll post pictures and maybe some video of our trip later.

Seeya!

Grace's theological quote of the week

These are always from Grace it seems. I think she thinks about religion more than the other kids. Today she said:

"I hope when Jesus comes again that he picks me up and flies me back to heaven so I can see what it looks like."

Abi

The other day I was putting Abi's coat on and she was trying to put her arm in the wrong hole.
Me "Oops, wrong one!"
Abi "Oh. This arm?"
Me "Yep. You sure are a good talker Abi."
Abi "Yeah, I talk real nice."

Abi will turn two on the 11th of May, the day after we get back. We haven't quite decided whether we are going to do anything for her birthday. We were thinking maybe doing it the weekend after, but it will probably depend on what Angela's family does with moving.

The Countdown's On

It has actually be going on for the last 56 days, but now that our trip is getting close everyone is getting excited. There is a debate in our household about how to count the number of days left. I say, as of today, Tuesday, there are 8 days till we leave next Wednesday. Jared insists that there are only 7, which is smaller and which is also the countdown the girls have been using for the last 56 days. Personally, if there is only one day left then the next day you should be leaving. I got confused about Jared's reasoning for there only being 7 days left and will leave it up to him to add his justifications to this post.

Hi gang! Jared here. I've always wanted to say hi gang. I've heard that on tv but never in real life. But I digress.

So here's my reasoning. On monday we will say there is 1 day left. That 1 day will be tuesday. See? Simple! That's the last day we have to go through before we leave on wednesday.

P.S. I've actually been counting down the days since 93 days left.

P.P.S Don't tell Brittney but the real reason I've been counting that way is that when I first started counting down the days I used a countdown clock on the internet where you put in a date and it tells you how long until then. I only recently discovered that when it was telling me that there were oh, let's say 8 days left, below it it would say something like "and 19 hours". But by this point I'd already argued for my way of counting down. Stupid internet.

Stinky Tuesday

Well this Tuesday hasn't been as bad as usual. Probably because it was worse then usual for Jared. He went to a podiatrist today to get part of his toe nails removed because of ingrown toe nails. The worst of mine is that I still have a migraine that started Saturday night, that won't go away, regardless of what I take. It's not as bad as it was on Sunday but it is a little worse then it was on Monday.


Things I re realized this week:
~It is really fun to do the bid jump rope, especially when the other two people doing it are 4 and 5 years old, I can manage to jump it two times and they think it's the coolest thing EVER!
~Scout really isn't a little girl any more.
~I LOVE spring!
~I probably can't eat any kind of cheese or nuts without getting a migraine (although I do keep trying different kinds just in case).
~If I would just throw away EVERYTHING in my house, including my own clothes, shoes, and all kitchen supplies, then I might be able to clean up as much and my kids mess up in a day.


Things I could have done without this week:
A three day migraine.
My house getting completely trashed.
Going to Costco three different times because we kept forgetting to get something.


Things I loved this week:
Going shopping with Angela and Jared.
Hearing Eric got the job.
Giving Abi hugs and kisses before bed.
Getting my hair cut.
Getting a decent conditioner.
FlyLady's crisis cleaning mp3.
Not having any more sick kids.
Finding out that Matiki's isn't closed, it's just open for lunch now.


Things I am looking forward to this coming week:
Going with Scout on her school field trip.
Our last week of soccer.
Hopefully good weather for our last week of soccer.
Going on a double date with Angela and Eric.
Getting my kids rooms cleaned.


I usually consider myself to do pretty well with things when Jared is out of town, but during those times I realize why I will always have a big house dog even when sometimes I am not really a dog person. Now I love my dog, but I am not very affectionate with him and I get irritated with him often, although he has been so much better this year then the last. However, it is not infrequent for me to think how nice it would be to not have a dog and not have to worry about being home to take him out. It is really when Jared leaves that I love and appreciate my dog. I don't like to be in the dark when I am in a house alone. I do like to be home alone, just not when all the lights are off and I am trying to sleep. It's funny how at that time you become acutely aware of every noise in the house and outside. I feel safe in my home by myself knowing that I have a "bear" living downstairs that can be extremely intimidating. I know that first hand. I have had him barking and running strait at me and nipping at my collar, and that was him just playing.

Jared came home Wednesday night and the week has gone pretty fast since then. Jared's cousin had their 6 month old baby girl die this week; he went to the funeral on Sunday. It made me appreciate the lack of any real problems in my own family. Scout not breathing for 5 minutes after she was born was the closest I want to ever come to loosing a kid, and my heart goes out to anyone that has had to experience it. I will take our annual trip to the ER in exchange for anything serious happening.

While I am happy that Eric got the job, I am not looking forward to them moving so far away. Jeff was about Abi's age when they moved back here and I think Calista was only about 5 months old. It was hard enough with them moving to Salt Lake where I couldn't just drop in on them whenever I felt like it. Now I will hardly ever see them. While Jared will miss them too, he is looking forward to starting annual trips to see them in the fall. We have been wanting to take a trip there but with it so far away we haven't justified a family trip there. Now there is family to visit we will end up going. It will have to be a fall trip because we have to go during football season. Jared has been wanting to go see a Seahawks game forever.

For those who haven't heard the story already: The other day we were leaving to go to the store, and so we told Grace to hurry and get her sandals on.

She proceeded to throw a fit, saying she didn't want to wear those sandals.

When I asked her why, she said "I just don't like those sandals"

"Why?"

"Because I just don't like them!"

"You need to tell me why you don't like them"

Gracie, near tears says, "Because my littlest toes don't show up, and it looks like I only have 4 toes!"

Tuesdays Stink

I really liked Angela's idea to write up her week. She happens to do it on a day she likes, I personally hate Tuesdays and thought doing the same thing might help kill some time so Tuesday will just end already. So thanks for the idea Angela.

This week's reason for Hating Tuesday:
Jared is out of town, and we don't have anywhere to go while it's spring break and my girls are being very, very cranky.

Things I liked Last week:
The Roger Clyne Concert
The girl dancing in front of Jared and hitting him in the face with her hair (hilarious)
Having good weather for a soccer game
Great outside weather on Monday
Making cinnamon rolls with my girls
Grace running to the bathroom and throwing up in the toilet instead of on the floor

Things I could have done without:
Cleaning up after making cinnamon rolls
The immediate return of cold weather after such a nice weekend
My kids tantrums when leaving my mom's house
Grace throwing up once for no particular reason
Filing and mailing taxes and dues
Scout complaining about every single thing I make to eat
Scout lying


I am reading Anna Karenina . I am almost done with it; I only have 40 pages left. I wasn't a fan of it for the first half (400 pages) of the book but these last few hundred I have really liked. The characters are hard to relate to because they are so extreme in their views and behaviors, but later in the book I have started identifying with some of their thoughts and feelings in certain circumstances. For instance, I know what Dolly is feeling when she feels jealous of her friend for not being tied down with children, and then after being away from them for a day, wishing she was home to see them. I can even relate to Anna when she is depressed and looking at the world thinking everyone in fake and hating everyone. And Levin trying to reconcile religion with his rational. It's difficult to get to that point in the book in the first place, but I think in the end I liked it, although I don't know that I would recommend it to the average reader. If you like thinking books though, it does bring up some interesting questions.