SLC, Summer 2011, Day 2

This morning, Aubrie woke up at 6:15am, while Evan slept until 9:15am (that's 10:15 Houston time!). Aubrie, Aiden, and Ansley were all awake to eat breakfast together, and I think they all really enjoyed being together.

After breakfast, we got all of the kids dressed and headed to Sugar House Park to feed the birds. The kids LOVED it! Aubrie would have just jumped right into the water just to pet the birds if we hadn't stopped her. It was so cute to watch all of the kids together. They are all so precious!

After the park, we decided that we would continue to feed some birds, and we headed to the Great Salt Lake. It was so much fun to watch the kids trying to throw whole pieces of bread to the hundreds of seagulls that were hungrily waiting. Evan seemed to have a great time, but it was hard to get him to give us a good picture. He wouldn't smile, but he would give us his best "pirate face!"


After going through about 10 bags of bread, we left and headed to the Kennecott Copper Mine. On the way there, Nick was explaining to Evan and Ansley that they would be going inside a mountain, and was getting really into explaining what we would see. Ansley got really scared, and wanted to go home! But we managed to talk her into it, and it looked like she had a good time. The mine is huge. It's one of the few things that you can see from space! It was really amazing to see the change from when they started in 1900 up until the present day. They also had some small "digger" replicas to show all of the different types of trucks used in the mine. Evan REALLY wanted to play with them, and didn't understand that they weren't toys! He was so bummed!



When we finally got back home, Aubrie and Aiden took a long nap, while Ansley and Evan played outside with Joy. Apparently, since Ansley has been warming up to us being here, she and Evan had their first "argument" on the swings. Alia asked Ansley if she had like the mine, and while she was trying to say no, Evan thought that he would jump in and tell her that she did. He was explaining everything that she liked, all while Ansley was trying to get in a word to say no, that she didn't. Everyone was laughing while watching the two of them "duke" it out!

After naps, the kids got to play in the yard again, and some of Bud's family also came to visit. It is so nice being able to spend time just sitting outside and playing with the kids. The weather is so nice, the food is so good, and the company is amazing. The kids love being here, too. I can tell that my kids are having an amazing time, because all they want to do is play!

And lastly, just to get out of the house, Nick, Alia, Chris, Bud, and I went to just hang out and eat some wings at a place down the street. We actually got to walk to the restaurant, which was great! The food was really good (maybe better than Wings 'N Things!), and we all had a great time. Now it's midnight Utah time, and I'm dying to go to sleep! We're getting ready for another exciting day tomorrow!

(pictures coming tomorrow... it's just too late tonight).

Salt Lake City, Summer 2011: Day 1

Yesterday was the first day of our family vacation to Salt Lake City, Utah! We were able to fly up this summer, and we are super excited to visit with Alia's family and sight-see together as a family. I'm going to try and blog at the end of each day so that I don't forget what we did.

Day 1:

We were lucky enough to have my sister drop us off at the airport, and we arrived about 9:30am so that we would have enough time before our flight left at 11:17am. Both kids were excited to see all of the airplanes taxiing around at the airport, Evan especially. He loved to just sit and watch the airplanes take off and land. Aubrie thought it was cool, but was more interested in walking around and being social with other passengers in the terminal. Then she started getting sleepy and saying "nigh nigh" while trying to crawl up in the stroller. I walked her around in the stroller to keep her happy, and it was perfect timing when they called us to board the plane.

The kids did really well on the plane. As soon as I could nurse Aubrie, she fell right to sleep. She only slept for about 40 minutes, though, because one of the overhead bins slammed shut and woke her up. But she really wasn't bad for the rest of the ride. She was kind of squirmy during parts of the trip, and I finally had to hand her over to Chris so that I wouldn't get sick. It was perfect timing (for me!) because she tinkled in her diaper and left a wet spot on Chris' shorts! Evan was great the entire trip. He kept asking, "Are we in the air, yet?," and the other passengers would laugh. Then he changed it to, "Are we at Bud & Joy's house, yet?" He also thought it would be fun for the plane to land on a mountain...


When we finally arrived at Bud & Joy's house, the kids went right outside and started playing. The weather is so beautiful here! We would have never sat outside for hours playing if we had been in Houston! 15 minutes, maybe. The pool was brought out, and the water from the tap was freezing! Aubrie wanted to jump right in, and kept making faces when she would fall in the water because it was so cold! But my little girl loves water so much, and she loved every minute of it. I finally took her inside for a little nap, and ended up falling asleep next to her. When she woke up, dinner was started. We ate delicious hamburgers that Bud made, along with some other side dishes, and some fries from Five Guys (which were amazing!). Just a funny story: when Karim drove up, he came in a red car. Evan got really excited and said, "McQueen is here!!" When he realized that there was a man inside, he said, "Where is that man?"


After the kids went to sleep around 8:30 (9:30 our time!), Chris, Nick, Alia, and I walked down to a sno-cone hut that stays open until 11pm! It was yummy, but I have to say not as good as Bahama Bucks (you can pay me later, Clarie).


When we came home, we all pretty much crashed with exhaustion. I was praying that the kids would sleep well, and they did really well for the most part. Evan ended up sleeping until 9:15am this morning!

Ready for day 2!

Waiting on God

I have a very hard time being patient. I have a plan in my head, try to be proactive about getting things ready, and I don't often take the time to enjoy the moments around me. I'm always thinking about the next "thing" that needs to be done, and planning my life in terms of when I want things to happen.

My latest "plan" has included when to sell our home. Many of you who know my family, know that we have been trying on and off for several years to sell our home. We are anxious to leave this subdivision and find a real neighborhood for our family to grow up in. I have learned the hard way that it is not my planning that will get us into the house of our dreams, but that it is God's timing and will that we need to be listening to.

I read something this morning that refreshed me, and reminded me that I need to be patient. And happy with what I have.

Isaiah 40:28-31:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.”

Thank you, Lord, for your everlasting patience. I know that I must frustrate you with my planning, but I thank you for your ultimate power and strength to guide people like me.

Evan at 3 years, 2 months

Our Little Man has really started turning into a big kid lately.

He has actually started telling us when he needs to go to the potty, which is a HUGE deal for him! He actually told me that he had to go while we were at the Dr.'s office the other day. While we were in there, the nurse called our names. I had to try and hurry Evan up, but he was so excited about pooping in the potty and looking around the bathroom, that it took us a few minutes to get out. But I'm not complaining! He actually turned to look at his poop, while still sitting on the toilet, and said, "Wow, that looks like a granola bar!" Boys...

He is such a funny kid! I knew I should've started writing this post a few days ago because I'd forget (which I did). He was on a roll the other day, saying one funny thing after another. While we were swimming at my Aunt's house this past weekend, I looked at Evan and said, "How do you like being in the pool?" Let me say first, that I asked him this because any of you who know him know that he's not a huge water kid. He'd been playing next to the pool all morning, but finally sat down in his cute little chair inside the pool. Evan answered, "I'm in the pool?!" He's going to be a goof, that one.

I love the way he plays with his toys and his imagination. I love that he's started asking questions about things (we're about to get into the "why" stage, I think). He comes up with such fun conversations while playing with his toys, and he likes to pretend that Aubrie is either a Baby Monster, or a ghost, and that she's chasing him. I can't wait for Brie to get really good at walking so that she can really chase him around!

He still eats really well. He still doesn't really like pasta, and sometimes I can't get him to eat more than 2 bites at dinner time, but I really think it's because he's not hungry, so I don't push it. He still loves broccoli; if I ever ask him what he wants for breakfast, he'll say broccoli...

He doesn't always want to take a nap, anymore. But we still try to have quiet time in his room. I'm so blessed to have a child who is able to play in his room and keep himself happy. On the days that he doesn't get a nap, we put him to bed early, and he's usually asleep by 8pm. Aubrie has been trying to move to one nap a day as well, so she's ready for bed by 7:30. Love it!


He is such a sweet boy. He's been in time out a few times this week, but mainly for things like yelling or having a fit. Chris sets the timer, and Evan silently sits there until it goes off. Then we talk to him about why he was in time out, then he apologizes, we give hugs and kisses, and all is right in the world again. At night, Chris will tell Evan that he's only going to read one story. Chris will say, "Do you know why, Evan?," and Evan will say, "I know Daddy. I wasn't being nice to Mommy. But I'll be good tomorrow." He just melts my heart, and I thank God for him (& Aubrie) every day. As one of the band Mom's at Chris' school said the other day, "I'd rather have kids who are hard to deal with every now and then, than no children at all." I can take all the hardships, for moments like those.


We love you, Evan!

Summer Projects

I feel as if I have too many projects running around in my head for the summer, and not enough time to get them finished. Chris has either been working, or we've been out of town for most of the summer. We've been having a great time, but we basically only have this week to get our home projects finished. We leave for Utah next Tuesday, and Chris goes back to work almost as soon as we return. But today I feel like I made tons of progress!

Aside from trying to keep the house clean and organizing everything I can think of, I managed to get these two projects finished today. 1) fence flower pots with encouraging sign, so that I can relax as I do the dishes, and 2) magnetic meal planning for the fridge. I know it sounds like extra things that I can do without, but it really makes a difference as to how things run around here.
There is always something to be thankful for. (I know, not grammatically correct!).


I'm excited to get on top of the menu planning and grocery shopping, and making it less stressful and more economical. I'm also excited to have my hanging flower pots finished so that I can enjoy something beautiful outside as I clean the kitchen, and not just the ugly fence 5 feet away with a house behind it! Tomorrow, I'm working on organizing the laundry room, and I'm sure I can think of something else... :)

By the way, the menu labels are free printables that I just printed on magnetic printer paper. I found them here.

Potty Training

All of a sudden, Evan has really taken off on his potty training! It seems like we've been trying to get him to do it FOREVER, but it didn't really work, until today.

His personality has always been to just watch things that are going on, and what people are doing. Then one day he'll just start doing whatever it was he was watching. While learning to talk, he never jibber-jabbered, he simply started saying words. I guess I should've expected the same thing to happen with potty training!

Most of the time, he was just too busy to go to the potty. He'd start to play and just not want to take the time to leave his toys to go potty. But all day today, he was without a pull-up. He'd yell, "I need to go potty!" and then run off. We were even able to put him in underwear this afternoon, and he did great!

He only had one little mess when we were having a pillow fight in the living room. I'm sure it was because he was laughing so hard and consumed with fun that he didn't think about it. A little bit of pee fell on the floor, and he looked at me with big round eyes... then we said, "run to the potty!," and he did. Every time he went to the potty, he'd run out yelling, "I goed to the potty!"

It kind of blows my mind that we won't have to buy diapers for him anymore soon... I'll try not to be too sentimental, because it really does make me happy. But that also means he really won't be a little boy much longer... I'm already trying to resolve myself against being the mother of a boy. One day he'll get married and leave home (which is what I want), but I know that things will change one day. Every day brings me closer to that moment. I only hope that I can raise him to be a good human being who cares about people and loves the Lord with all his heart.

How did a post on potty training turn into a sappy post? I'll try to pull it together...
:)