Inspiring, Touching Blog

I just finished reading through this blog: http://adailyscoop.blogspot.com/

It is written by an LDS mother in Vegas who recently lost her baby girl, Camille, to drowning. I do not know her, but I had heard about this blog earlier and told myself I would not read it. I was afraid it would be too upsetting. Then I read on a friend's site that yes it is upsetting, but also very touching and makes you want to be a better person and mother. I thought I would share the link on my blog too. The mother is a very good writer; she expresses her thoughts and feelings often poetically. She is enduring well and that is what life is about. I will remember her example when trials come to myself, my husband and my children. With such tragedy, it would be easier to completely fall apart and not carry on. And much harder to pick yourself up, the best way you know how, and continue to contribute to the world around you. I think all of us have experienced losses and trials and can relate to some degree. What a beautiful blog.

Kyle, we should get a basset hound

Kyle says noooo dogs. But look at these guys. I'd love to get a basset hound in a few years. I'll start the begging now and maybe in a few years Kyle will either be convinced they're cute too, or he'll be broken down enough to let one of these pups into our home. Dogs make good pets for kids because they are loyal and loving. Then we can ensure that our kids will have at least one loyal friend growing up. Seriously, Kyle we should get one. The boys will love cuddling with one of these while they watch TV.

I'll do more research on them and see all the reasons we should get one. I'll tell you up front that I already read that some ....drool...but some DON'T. And we'll get one of those! They are calm and warm, and don't bug visitors who come to the house. They are so dang cute!

Water Balloons

Seth got these water balloons for his birthday from his cousins Joy and Chase. We did some of them last night for FHE and then some this afternoon.

Kyle put a water balloon inside another water balloon. He's a fun dad like that ...I suppose he just might be having a little fun too. Seth said the water balloons feel like hard boiled eggs without the shell - they kind of do!

Gophiss

Gophiss makes a great pet for Seth and Jonah

Is Jonah looking at the snake or himself?

He eats six mice a week, and I have a hard time saying goodbye to the mice. The constricting is the hard part. I can't help but think of Ratatoule, Stuart Little, Ralph and the Motorcycle, even Mickey Mouse; so many cute characters we all love. Violet was in their bedroom during the last feeding. She was so excited watching the mouse run around the cage. Then when Gophiss struck the mouse she said, "Uh, Oh." After most of the mouse was down she said, "Bye." She doesn't talk much but she seemed to have a good idea what was going down with that poor mouse.

Five Bucks

We were at the grocery store looking at watermelons and I was complaining that they were going to be rotten just like the last ones. I decided right there that I wasn't going to buy any more this year. At the same time, I put a crying and squirming Jonah into the shopping cart to keep him from poking all the produce. A man nearby came over and held out five bucks and told me to buy my boy the watermelon. I tried to refuse but then graciously accepted and told him how nice he was. So then I had to pick out a rotten watermelon. But I figured I still had a few dollars to spare....we found these punch balloons and they were a hit with the boys. I thought of the five dollars over the next few shopping trips and somehow thought it could excuse a little water gun or bubbles. It's funny how "free" money can skew perception and tempt me to spend it two or three times over.

Seth's Pictures

Seth borrowed my camera and took a million pictures of whatever. Jonah and Violet were good sports and posed for a few. Check out his slide show. Click on the little X in the top corner.

Check out my Slide Show!

Bed Head

Check out Violet's bed head. She has the after nap hangover complete with a pouty mouth. Today Kyle commented, "The kids have been really good. Even Violet is fun. She still cries a lot, but ya know... she's happy sometimes." Violet really has been a lot of fun lately! I promise.

Why I love my blog:

1) It stays clean all by itself. No dishes, toilets, or toys.

2) The kids can't touch it. This is my own little space, albeit cyberspace.

3) An EASY and FUN way to keep record of the family. Yahoo for that!

4) Staying in touch with friends and family (Jana and Maya need to start a blog :).

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One of my roommates from BYU, Christy, started a blog with great recipes. She would bake bread and put it out on the counter for everyone to enjoy. Who does that in college? Last night I tried the "beer rocks". We'll probably name it "pizza rocks" :). This recipe is now a family favorite.
http://busymomscookdinner.blogspot.com/

Bad Boyz, Bad Boyz

Whatch ya gonna do, whatch ya gonna do when they come for you. Kyle was arrested today. Yes, it's true. The police were not playing around. They had their guns drawn and told Kyle to "Get down." Kyle was at the DMV registering his two work trucks with Showcase Landcare (his new budding landscape company). When the clerk looked up the info on the black Toyota Tundra, "stolen vehicle" flashed across his screen (Kyle was unaware). The clerk asked Kyle to wait while some things were approved for his registration. After a long wait, in bust the police coming straight for Kyle. They had their guns drawn and Kyle had to get down. After patting him down for weapons, they took Kyle into a back room. I imagine there were bright lights and forced confessions. They finally let Kyle go after seeing his paper work. The truck had been purchased at an auction and had previously been stolen. The DMV felt bad and gave Kyle a pretty cool license plate: 444VGS. Gotta love the DMV!

Sisters

It's a lucky thing I didn't grow up being closer in age to my sister Anna Lisa. Imagine the shadow that would have been :). She is PERFECT. She has everything from a great singing voice to a sparkly personality. I'd like to think those genes are hidden somewhere in my DNA and therefore are available to my posterity. It must be true because Seth can already hold a tune better than I can.

Anna Lisa, Jeremy, and kids came to Vegas for a few days. It was great to BBQ and get some rare time together. I love hearing stories from my parent's past (they don't share very often). We were telling funny pet stories in celebration of Gophiss our new pet snake, when my dad told a story from his youth. He was fishing with his dad and older brother (Uncle Doug). My dad is too funny and said he hated fishing...boring. But he found a really cool water snake, and he snuck it back to the truck. On the way home it got loose and slithered into the dashboard. My grandpa was furious and spent the whole night taking apart the truck and searching for the dang snake. No luck. The next day he drove his truck to the hospital. He was the Heber City, UT doctor. He grabbed his leather medical bag and headed into work. A few minutes later a nurse let out an earth shattering shriek. She was horrified by the green snake she just pulled out of Dr. Nielson's medical bag!

On a different note, my Dad mentioned to me on Mother's Day that this was the day his father suffered a major heart attack and didn't survive. I never knew it was on Mother's Day. My dad was only 14 years old. Grandpa Nielson was at the hospital working and was expected home for a nice meal. My grandma received a phone call from the hospital and things were not okay. She turned to my dad and asked him to clear the table and get in the car. Once they arrived, my dad waited in the car while his mom went into the hospital. He said he saw people going in and out of the hospital sobbing and he knew what had happened. This story is very sobering considering my dad was just in the hospital for a few days with heart concerns. We are glad he is okay! He is the life of every party and he is the funnest, most loving dad a girl could have. The version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on my playlist embodies my dad. I first heard the song a few years back while he was preparing dinner and dancing around the kitchen with little Seth. That song always makes the stress float away and brings a great smile.

Kindergarten Cutie

I don't think I'm a super emotional mom, but I admit I cried on the first day of kindergarten - and the last . Seth had a successful year and we are very proud of him. First grade is right around the corner. For now, we are in love with summer and can't get enough watermelon, parks, swimming, computer games, and hopefully a few moments of reading here and there.

Kindergarten snapshots:

Valentine's Day

Chocolate Time

Mother's Day Tea: Seth and his class sang to the moms, "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You" by James Taylor. Seth danced, grooved to the music and snapped his fingers. Now I understand why he was snapping his fingers all the time at home. It's fun to see them learn even the little quirky skills.

100 Days of School

Counting to 100.

Seth's 1st girlfriend. Seth and Natalie wrote letters to each other all year and decided they would marry. They became friends last year in preschool. They have a secret handshake, swapped trinkets and I think I even saw them kiss on the playground. Seth is matter of fact about it, "Yes, we're getting married because we love each other." I suppose they're just role playing what they understand about marriage. Either that or Natalie has seen way too many Disney princess movies. In any case, Seth should get a kick out of this when he's older. I will not be surprised if he remembers Natalie.

Kindergarten Late Night: Kyle took Seth to this Kindergarten Bash. They felt gooey surprises along this rope, tie dyed shirts, ate hot dogs and many more fun projects. Seth was beaming when he came home.

Happy Anniversary!

It has been 8 wonderful years! I love being married and I'm so happy that Kyle's my man.

Violet's White Dress

My dad gave me this little dress on Mother's Day. He found it in a little shop in New York City. I could not resist Violet today during church. She was extra lovable and beautiful!

What's in the box?

Kyle brought home a surprise...

A snake!! A slithery, slimy, scaly, serpent!

Every boy's treasure.

Meet Gophiss. Kyle found him (nearly stepped on him) while on a landscape job. After showing us his prize, Kyle took the snake to a pet store to ask some questions. The guy at the pet store picked him up and held him. He said he's a gopher snake and would make a great pet. Meanwhile, Seth at home was relentlessly wondering when Dad would be home. He was praying for a new pet snake! Kyle called me from the pet store to consult. Uhhhhg. I could see images of an empty cage and snake on the loose. I was tempted to exile the thing back to the desert. We agreed to go for it, but I didn't tell the boys yet. Twenty minutes later Kyle walked in the door carrying the snake. Seth just stood there. He couldn't process that Kyle was holding the snake! We told him we could keep the snake! Jonah came running up and immediately put his hands all over the poor creature. He went for the head, everything. Somehow the snake found a little hole beneath our book cupboard and managed to poke its head through. Tense moment! I saw Kyle pulling the snake back. I thought for sure the snake was GONE or would jump back and bite Kyle. Kyle later said he was willing to let the snake bite him. He was not going to let go. It was time to put the snake back in the box. We then worked on his new aquarium. He now has a great home with all the fixings. I'll post more pictures later. We asked the boys where we should keep him. Initially Seth wanted to keep Gophiss in his own room but then suggested Mom and Dad's room. I guess he wasn't so sure about sleeping next to the snake. So we set up camp in our room and watched the snake until bedtime. This morning Seth begged to move Gophiss to his room. We talked about names. Jonah said "Slither." Seth said, "Hisser." After they learned that he's a gopher snake, Seth wanted something with gopher. So we smooshed "gopher" and "hiss" together to make "Gophiss." I think the name is sticking.

Water Race Track

Everyday after school, we play outside in our neighborhood

Jonah got his Spider-Man bike for his birthday. Now he feels big like Seth!

The boys pour water out onto the curb and it runs down our sloping street to the end of the circle and into the gutter. They call it water race track.

Pile-up

It's wrestle mania and Dad is pinned.

Happy Birthday Jonah!

Jonah is 4 years old! His birthday was Saturday. I keep looking at those long eyelashes. On Sunday he was doing an "art project." When I came downstairs his eyelashes were trimmed down to nothing. Oh, Jonah Bug. We love you - eyelashes or not.

Rub A Dub Dub. Three little people in my tub.