The Sun.....or Scrapbooking?

The Sun!
So I've been in this debate lately. I am SO behind on scrapbooking. And by behind I mean I haven't even started on Noah's yet. I have everything to do it: the book, tons of paper, stickers for his 1st Halloween and blessing etc... so it's just a matter of doing it. But it is so hard to stay holed up in the house while I can be outside with the kids. So lately, the sun has won over my guilt. So when the weather gets crappier and I'm not working an insane amount of hours, that is my goal. I refuse to give up despite how behind I am because I love doing it and I love the final result! Mady's is so cute, so anyhow...here's some fun pictures of the kids!
Mady helping me wash the car!


Noah chillin' by the pool


When we emptied the pool, it made this big puddle on the sidewalk and the kids giggled and ran through it forever. It's cute the simple things that can make them so happy!



So Noah is learning to climb. Today I found him on the coffee table and on our kitchen chairs. And we have the bar stool ones! He scares me already.

We're in trouble

Pioneer Day

So this last weekend Adam's sister and brother-in-law came over and we went to the Pioneer Day Parade. It goes right by his sister Emily's house so we could sit right in her yard. Afterwards we took all the kids to McDonalds and then came back to our house for the kids to play. We had a BBQ that night and Katie and Craig brought their camper and stayed the night. We watched a movie and stayed up until 3:30 a.m. playing the Wii. Kind of stupid since we all have kids that get up at 8:30, so yeah we were a little tired the next day. But it was fun!


The kids waiting for candy



Mady was in the middle of throwing a fit, but I still got a strange smile!


Noah loves his baby Kru!

Fun in the Sun!

So my sister-in-law and her 2 kids spent the night on Monday (I know... sleepovers!! lol) but we had fun. She brought a bunch of projects to do with the kids and we stayed up late talking. I had to work until 11:00 although they told me it would only be until 9:30. ya right. Anyhow... the next day we took all the kids to the splash park, which doesn't seem to entertain them long, which is fine with me. The kids there are wild, they will push anyone out of the way! That's why Mady has never wanted to go down the slides, she doesn't like all the kids and all the water that sprays so she just plays in the fountains. But this time she was daring, she went down the slide with Kenzie (her cousin) and she loved it. Noah on the other had wouldn't even play in the little fountains. He's kind of a pansy about the water. He only likes his pool outside if it is as warm as his bath water!! Anyhow.. they had fun, and of course Zach was here which is all Mady needs to entertain her

Mady is such a cheeser!


Kenzie and Mady! She said it was "awesome!"


Mady with her Zachery!


Both Jamie and Katie tried to get him in the water but he wasn't going for it! His face kind of says it all.



This was as close as he was getting; he preferred to be a spectator.


I just had to take a picture of his cute feet! They are so chubby! When we buy him shoes we have to try them on because his feet don't always fit! But they're so cute.

All work & no play

At least that's what it feels like. So many people at work have quit that I've picked up twice as many shifts as I would like. I keep hoping to be put on call, but that never happnes. We're just too many nurses short and I feel bad. So Tuesday night, we took the kids to the park and out to dinner. It was nice just to spend a night together playing with the kids. We're having such nice weather and we have such a big yard now that I want to take full advantage of the summer. I certainly don't want to spend it all working, but we're trying to fit in all the fun we can. And in a few weeks we got a condo in park city for 4 nights. We're going to the Living Planet Aquarium and the Hogle Zoo. Nothing exciting, but at least we're going to get away and it's something to look forward to. Anyhow... just want to share a few cute pictures of the kids.

Noah loves my mp3 player, he reaches for it any time it's on the counter!


The kids love the swings, and Mady has the cheesiest smile, but it's cute!




Lately Mady likes to have "picnics" on the living room floor. (And yes, she's eating lunch still in her pajamas. Some days we're lazy!)

Does this ever feel like anyone elses whole day?

Some days I swear this is all we do. Noah is just a boob butt lately. He just wants to be held constantly. (and yes he is cutting teeth) But honestly, ALL DAY? Ahh! I swear it has to wear on even the most patient persons nerves. But he is very cuddly and I love that part. And whoever said 2 year olds were the worst didn't have a 3 year old! Mady is so emotional. This kid SCREAMS over everything. There is no such thing as tantrums, for her it's the end of the world. Last night she was sitting in her room for a monsterous fit and me and Adam decided that if we cut her arm off with a dull knife she would scream the same. It is miserable. And sometimes I don't know what to do with her. She's pretty difficult at times. Oh and since we've been potty training, she doesn't EVER pee her pants but she will let her self get constipated and then poop her pants. Let me just tell you how fun that is. Today I made her clean it. As bad as it sounds, the duties of being a mother are not all great. Between tantrums, scooping poop out of panties, taking away scissors (and getting hit for it), and listening to constant crying because I won't let them have popsicles for breakfast, its been a pretty long day. But for all the hard duties of motherhood, there are so many rewards. When my little girl grabs my face and says, "mommy, I love you the mostest" or Noah grabs his blankie and juice and says "Mom! Up!", it makes me forget all the other things and treasure being a mother. And in moments where Mady leans over and tells Noah he's a good boy and kisses him, or covers him up with her forbidden blanket, I think maybe we are doing something right and that there's hope for well-behaved kids yet!

4th of July

So we had a pretty great 4th of July. Adam had a 3 day weekend and we had fun. On friday night Adams sister and brother-in-law and their kids came over. We BBQ'd and then we did fireworks out in the driveway for the kids. They had a lot of fun. Then Saturday they came back and we all went to the parade with Adam's parents. That is where we realized our daughter is destined to dance :) After the parade everyone came to our house and we had a big BBQ. We had the pool and slip 'n' slide out and it was just a really nice day. After everyone left, we all took a nap! Then that night we went to the Menan fireworks; I know, real exciting. But I was actually pretty surprised. They weren't as long as Idaho Falls, but you could get a lot closer, there was more room for the kids to play and we actually got home by 11:00!!! We almost got to see them blow things up (they had a few accidents. lol.) Craig (brother-in-law) joked that there was nothing high tech about Menan's fireworks; it's just red necks running around lighting them with their cigarettes. Ha ha. Not really, but it was fun. To say the least we had some pretty tired kids for the next day at church, but it was worth it. I feel so blessed to spend times like that with our family and to honor the freedoms that we all share, it reminds me of what's important.



All the kids watching the firworks.

After each one Mady would throw her hands in the air and go, "Yea! Woo hoo! Go Daddy" she was so excited. Of course there were tears when it was over.

Getting ready for the parade; Aunt Katie is giving him a blue mohawk.


My cute kids would not cooperate in their cute outfits! This was the best I got.


Every dance team or cheerleading squad that came by, Mady would copy them! She was jumping and flipping those arms around. The people in front of us even turned around and asked if she was ours because she was so cute! I wish I'd had the video camera because the pictures just don't capture it.


The BBQ



Aubrey got mouthy and got thrown in the water, clothes and all!!! (Oh and thanks Grandma Hesse for the birthday $, we got a new pool!)

The fireworks. A nice ending to the day; it was a beautiful night.

Summer Days

It's been so nice to have some warm days for the kids to go out and play. They love the pool; every morning Mady wakes up and says "Pool, swimsuit?", so we fill it up so that it can warm up. It's been almost 90 outside though. The trampoline, concrete and sand in the sand box get way hot! We kept having to cool everything down with the sprinkler!

It was so bright that Noah couldn't even open his eyes when he said cheese!


Kru even joined us


Trying to keep the sand cool



BBQ'ing out side! Yea, not much of a mess for mom!

Waiting for Daddy

We were waiting for Adam to come home for lunch one day, but he was taking forever so I fed the kids but was trying to keep Noah up to see him, because he gets SUPER excited when daddy walks through the door. He started looking very sleepy and would close his eyes when he'd chew... it was so stinkin' cute!

He's going...


Going...


Gone


I just have to say how much fun my little guy is, because looking back over our blog, there seems to be a lot of focus on Mady. He has such a cute personality. Like today my mom gave Mady an oreo and went to give him a less messy cookie and he gave it back to her and said "pease!" so she gave it back to him, and he turned around and threw it on the floor and went after Mady's!! This kid has so much attitude but is also so sweet! I can always count on him to cuddle. And it is so much fun to hear all the words he says. When he gets up in the morning all we hear him yell is "Mom!" then it's "milk, milk" and when he gets up from his nap its "nack, nack" (snack) He says so many things. Adam swears the other night he said "love you" back to him, but I have yet to hear that, although this kid says a lot!!! He loves his big sister and can't wait for her to wake-up! We love our little man and we feel so lucky to have been blessed with him!!

Potty training!! AHHHH!

So we are on our 5th day of potty training and have had NO accidents today! Yea! We skipped pull-ups except at night or nap time and went straight to 'big girl panties'. the first day wasn't so bad, the second day was AWFUL! So many people told me about all their potty training nightmares but I swear that it doesn't make it any less frustrating. I would just get her off the potty and she'd run in the next room and pee and just WATCH it run down her legs. And every book says BE PATIENT, don't get frustrated, but sometimes it seems like they know EXACTLY what they are doing! Anyhow... we are making progress, I just wish she would tell me when she has to go, instead of me asking her and taking her 100 times a day. - Anyhow... we've just been playing outside in the awesome weather we have today!! finally! When my granparents were here they probably wandered if we ever had nice days! We sure had a lot of fun while they were here though and we miss them tons!!!

I had to post this picture of my grandpa and the kids, because they are sitting on a very old rocking chair that has been passed through the family and they brought it out for us!! Thanks so much!


We had a BBQ at Adam's parents and I think everyone had fun.




And of course we had to go 4 wheeling, my mom even went. She was a good sport, although she looked a little scared when she rode with Jeff, LOL but she said it was a blast!