Swimming

Ok, a funny story I have to share with you all! Just yesterday (was that seriously just yesterday?) the boys and I went swimming at Sinsheimer Pool. Derek, Logan and I were in the ladies room getting changed (I didn’t have to change), minding our own business, when all of a sudden those sweet innocent boys got a first hand glimpse of a ladies external anatomy. The funny thing is, as they were trying so hard NOT to look at her, they had these looks of, “Holy cow, she’s naked!!!!” on their faces. After we left the changing room they both looked at me and said, “That was gross!” Hahahaha!!! I just looked at them and said, “Well, it’s a natural thing and there’s nothing wrong with her getting changed. And not all ladies look exactly the same.” Derek then proceeded to say, “Ya, mom, you don’t look like that! You look much better, right?” I just said that I didn’t sag quite as much as she did. :) Ahh, so funny.

This experience doesn’t end here, when Kaleb and Tyler found us at the ball park (Derek and Logan had to get to Jr Giants just across the street) they said there was a man that was naked in the shower: in the mens room (which is fine and dandy), so they couldn’t shower…lets just say it was a bit awkward for them. Hahaha. I guess Kaleb couldn’t stop laughing and Tyler kept trying to get him to be quiet…can you imagine? Oh, to live in a world where privacy just doesn’t matter to so many. I thought the woman in the ladies room would have been a bit more considerate, but I guess you learn something new every day!

I have mixed emotions about this experience. I’m glad the younger boys now know what a woman’s body looks like since they aren’t seeing mine naked EVER, they were a little repulsed by said naked body, so that makes me happy, too! I think it’s hilarious how all of this played out. And now Kaleb and Tyler know what to expect in the mens room. I’m not sure which I’d rather have Derek and Logan see…because I can’t control those boys in a room I can’t go in. They need a family changing room in that place!!!

Thank you for serving our country

Yesterday we went to Staples to recycle some printer ink cartridges (so I can get $2 for each one in Staples savings for my next cartridges). We were up near the counter and Kaleb was kind of hanging close to this gentleman in Army fatigues and I asked him what he was doing. He said, "I'm kind of nervous to tell him thank you for serving our country." I looked at him in utter amazement and said, "Well then, just go do it before he leaves." So he did! The gentleman seemed a little taken aback and said it was his pleasure and he wouldn't have it any other way. He said thank you to Kaleb for saying that to him. My son makes me soooo proud to be a mom. I remember mentioning to the boys to do that to a group of Army members quite a while ago when we were in a store. No one was able to before the group was gone. That he would remember how important it is to be thankful for their service to help keep us safe brings tears to my eyes! That's my boy!

Then, last night I had Kaleb watch the boys while I went to the Temple. I had 2 neighbors on call for emergency situations, just in case. Everything went smoothly and the house was standing when I got home. Then as he was hugging me goodnight I told him I had money for him and he said I didn't need to pay him. I just asked him why and he said that a scout is willing to serve without any monetary reward. :) Ah, doesn't he just melt your heart?!! I payed him anyway, because he is soooo awesome! I love him and every day he makes me more and more proud to be his mother here on Earth!

Logan...what a character!

So, quickly...we were all in the van today running a few errands. The kids really wanted the movie on, and I told them no. They were saying that they could just watch it while I still listened to my music. Logan then says, "Well, we could put on our mustaches." Kaleb then a little confused corrected him with, "Do you mean ear phones?" Logan, "Oh, ya, ear phones!" Had to document that one!

Kids say the darndest things!

Logan, yesterday, as I was paying attention to something else trying to get ready to leave for Walmart says, "Mom, can I bring my oy oy?" Hello? What the heck is an "Oy Oy"? I turn around and look to see what he is talking about. Many of you may have figured this out by now...no??? A Yo-Yo! I laughed so hard, it was so cute, and he had no idea why I was laughing. It's like when we were in SLO and Gramma became "Emma" (which is an endereing term for her still today). Logan will also look at me and with all seriousness say, "Mom, I am a blue minja, cause blue minja's are nice." Sometimes it changes to an orange "ninja". There was a short time where he said he was going to have blue hair, because he was a blue minja. Another thing about Logan...if one of his brother's gets a hold of our camera...he tends to come up with some of the funniest poses. Like this one:
Or even this one:

How crazy is my kid? These were taken before me moved. I think I've kept the camera out of their hands for the most part since we arrived here. He did break our camera at one point in January while taking pictures of Garen and himself like these:
Here's a few other pictures the boys have taken through the years:

My kids crack me up. Ya know what? I'm really glad I've given them control of the camera at times (of course most of those times I didn't know I was giving them control until after the fact). Some of the greatest pictures have come from those times! Can I just say...my kids are hilarious! It's nice to see pictures of them being who they really are, to help me remember how much fun they have, and we have, together.

More home

Will put this slide show together of the house. I wish I could do all those cool things on my computer. His Mac rocks! The pictures of the pool and park are the community facilities. I wish the play equipment was in our back yard. But it is in walking distance, so I can't complain too much.

I don't know why it has a single picture of the first pic of the slide show...I can't get rid of it either. I also said I'd have pics of the commons/loft area so you could see how we managed to not have any hallways. So I finally took some.

Now we have Logan and Gramma hangin' out before we moved. We stayed with them from the 2nd of July until moving day, the 7th of July. Derek jumped in there for some of the action, too.


On one of my near future posts I'm going to put pictures up of the rewards and rules we have hanging in the commons area (you can see them in small form on the pics I put up today). We find they work very well, and we've changed the feel of our rules to be much more positive then they were before.

Some of the fun things...AKA "Guilt Trip"

Some of the fun things we did this summer...

The kids and I took off for Utah after the last day of school (yes I am crazy). We stopped in Primm that night and made it to Provo the next day. We were able to visit Uncle K.C. and Aunt Sarah a lot while we were there. Sarah was on the tail end of recooperation from her Leukemia, so we wheeled her around in a wheelchair and the kids loved every minute of it. The day we arrived in Provo, Will flew into SLC airport (surprising all family but me). I kept the news from the boys and K.C. and Sarah. It was great seeing their reaction when Will showed up at the park we took the kids to play before we parted ways that evening. :)



The day after we arrived we went to the Natural History Museum in Lehi, Utah. We had fun looking at all the artifacts and learning so much about so many things. The dinosaurs were a big hit!


Sunday took us to the Knighton's home since it was one of the few days Will would be there and we wanted to make sure we could all be together for at least a little while. We had a blast playing, talking, and especially singing! We had a battle between the men and the women. The women won with a huge lead! :) It was a great way to spend Father's Day!
Monday we went to Hogle Zoo. Will had never been and the kids hadn't gone in a long time, so it was the perfect time to go. K.C. and Sarah joined us on this outing, too, thank heavens. Sarah was a great tour guide! It was great being able to spend so much time with them. We were able to see the White Crocodile. Not to be confused with an Albino Crocodile...this one had a genetic defect that caused it to not have any pigment.








Tuesday we went to Temple Square in Salt Lake City. It worked out to have the Knighton's join us there, but K.C. and Sarah weren't able to make it...Sarah had to get a blood transfusion to help her "numbers" go up. They were missed. :( Tammy has all the pictures from that day, so hopefully I'll have some soon.
Will took off, back to Tennessee, after our visit to Temple Square. He was greatly missed the rest of the vacation, but we didn't stop partying. More vacation and summer fun to come soon...maybe tomorrow.

Tyler's Report

Tyler gave an oral report a couple weeks ago on Stick Bugs and I wanted to put it up on our blog since he did such a great job...and because Will is so far away he wasn't able to be here for it.

(To be added once I finally get it in the right format to fit in here)

I am so proud of him and how much he has grown in the last couple years. When we moved to California from Utah he was so shy and timid it's almost like he's a new person. He's outgoing and willing to get in front of people. He even sings during sacrament meeting performances! He used to always just stand up on the stand and not sing. It's been great to see him flourish in his confidence.

I mentioned that Will is so far away...he's in Tennessee working on TurnItUp Media, and things are going great! It looks like he's going to have a launch date within the next month and a half for the site to be full blown. We are so excited to see this business flourish. He's such an entrepreneur that it's been hard having him put so much effort into so many wonderful things and we are still waiting for one to succeed to more than we could ever imagine. It's great to see it happening after so many years of effort. I'm so proud of him, and miss him terribly! The boys have been great, but definitely miss their dad! I think we will all appreciate each other a lot more once we are reunited. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder!

We are in the last 2 weeks of school. The day school is out we are taking off for Utah to visit K.C. and Sarah, Tammy and Chad, and many other friends we haven't seen for over 2 1/2 years. We'll then travel home via Northern California and visit my Sister, Carrie, Bro-in-law, John and their four children. I'm so excited to see everyone!! I can't believe that 2 1/2 years have gone by since we moved here. Time has flown by, and we love being here!!!!

Quote of the Day...

This one actually came from me...I was talking to my good friend, Krissy, and managed to blurt out, "I had a great day with the kids...until I got out of bed!" The delivery was excellent and when I was saying it I didn't really think of it that way.

Here's where this comment came from. I was in my room until about 11 this morning working on Primary stuff. The boys were in and out of the room, but I hadn't emerged at any point until 11. Then once I had taken care of lunch it was time to get some cleaning done...and the crap hit the fan! Holy Cow, I never realized how much my children argue with me and merely ignore anything I tell them to do. We have got to get this under control. I never would have even thought about talking to my mother the way my boys talk to me. I looked at Kaleb and said, "If I ever came even close to talking to your gramma that way grampa would have been beating me so bad!" (Side note...I never was beaten by my dad nor would he have ever beaten me, but Kaleb doesn't know that.) I would have had a stern talking to and plenty of time to think about what I had done...and I just really wasn't that kind of kid.

Here's my question...how far is too far when it comes to a child talking back? I know you are supposed to pick and choose your battles...is this one I should battle? It seems like a losing battle to me. The respect, or should I say lack of respect, is sickening to me. Not just from the boys to me, but from me to the boys. How far is too far when it comes to saying, "Because I said so," and "If you don't knock that look off your face, I'll knock it off for you." :) These boys really test the waters and push the buttons to get me going. I have been trying to let things roll off my back, but they seem to just keep pushing further and further. Dang, if I could only be a "perfect mother" (like they even exist). I was a perfect mother...until I had children. :)

I think I may have answered my own question...don't ignore it, send them to their room, calmly, and have them think about what they had done. And as soon as they came out they have to come apologize to me, or to William. I love the way my parents parented me...maybe I need to think about how they would have handled the situation more often. Don't over talk it. Don't intimidate them into being respectful (that will never work). I tend to over talk everything that happens. I think I need to re-read "Love and Logic". It's a great book, just another one I have a hard time implementing.

So, that’s what I have to say today. Thanks for letting me talk through my issues. Sometimes it’s just nice to get things out on paper so it all makes more sense. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why we’ve been told to keep a journal. Huh.

Quote of the Week

The other night as I was closing Derek and Tyler's bedroom door, Tyler asked, "Mom, does Jesus have a body?" I replied, "Yep, He sure does!" Tyler then quietly and with awe stated, "COOL!", rolled over and went to sleep. It was so endeering to me that I couldn't help but laugh after I had left the room. I knew it was a conversation I had to put down in the books...so here it is. I love my boys so much, especially when they come up with cute things like that. I wish I could have been inside his head at that moment to know exactly where that question came from and what he was thinking after the answer. So cute!