evidence of God's love

Need I explain further? I think not. These pictures are from a hike up AF canyon that I did with my dad today.

And speaking of evidence of God's love here's some more:

(the kid, not the sheep, though I suppose I appreciate the wool in the winter)(again, the kid not the horse, though I do appreciate glue)

Alexis took her first "field trip" yesterday. I was very proud of her for riding the horse because we haven't been able to get her to do this until now. And while she had a slight freak out while on the horse, she recovered in time for me to get a picture.

i blame my parents

If you've ever been to my house and actually inspected it, you would know I'm not the cleanest or most organized person. I'm a surface cleaner, things look nice enough, my house generally does not smell funky, and we have (as of yet) never gotten some weird sickness from my house, but there's lots of little jobs that could be done to make it cleaner. So while I enjoy a clean house as much as the next person, I don't enjoy the process of it, and for this I blame my parents. Any of you that have ever been to my parents house may say "but their house is clean! Patti is a super cleaner, she's good at doing all the little jobs, why do you blame them?" Well, it took some thinking and connecting but I finally found a way, cause it can't be my own fault!

When I was a kid I witnessed my parents reading...a lot. Especially my dad, he read and read and read. He still does. When he was reading you could go up and talk to him for about 10 minutes before he'd realize it. Anyway, they passed their love of reading onto me, whether they meant to or not. Therefore, reading filled up a lot of my spare time, making it virtually impossible for me to be bored. Well, what's that got to do with cleaning? Hang on.

Of course before I figured all that out, I would occasionally get bored. And when I would I'd go to my mom and tell her I was bored. Big mistake. Most of the time she'd respond with, "Well, you could clean the bathroom" or "the kitchen floor needs to be mopped" or "you can go pull the weeds in the front". Suddenly I was no longer bored! She trained me to never get bored (or at least to never tell her I was bored). Thus, unintentionally I'm sure, she trained me that cleaning is only what bored people do. And for that I say, (insert sarcasm here) "thanks a lot" .

And what do I do instead of cleaning out of boredom? I read. And for that I sincerely say

"thanks a lot!"

the mac dad will make you JUMP JUMP

Here's the promised video of this guy:



















In the video you'll see Tyler "jump". This is quite literally what he was doing ALL day yesterday, even at church. I'd advise that you don't have your volume turned up too high because he does a number of extremely high pitched screams. You'll also get to hear him say "yuck", which is his first word.


Sorry if that was boring for any of you, it was mainly intended for his grandma and grandpa that live in Iowa.

And once again, if you live anywhere near trees with leaves that change colors, go see them. Here's a picture to entice you. Jeremy took this over the weekend, and I think it's an awesome picture.

doing nothing

When I woke up this morning (much too early for my liking) I said to myself, "Lisa, what do we HAVE to do today?" Lisa answered with an exuberant "NOTHING!" (Lisa's pretty good at overlooking her house chores). So we got up and did absolutely nothing that we had to, only things we wanted to. We went on a walk with our neighbor, we sat around lazily, we went to the library for storytime and to Target just because we wanted to. The kids and I ate lunch at Target and it was fun, partly because I wasn't in a rush, and partly because it wasn't my floor that Tyler was spitting all his mac & cheese onto. And when Jeremy gets home tonight I think he's actually going to be around to join us in our "doing nothing" state. And the best part about this is that my house isn't even a complete disaster...only a partial one.

Yesterday we had a bit of a crazy day. I was watching my nephew (which is fine, I like doing that), but we had about a bazillion different places to go and since I had an extra kid in tow I didn't get to ever sit down and talk to Alexis much. Now I'm not sure if her behavior yesterday was a result of that or just a coincidence, but she was really kind of M-E-A-N yesterday. She yelled at me and refused to do anything i asked, then told, then demanded, and finally forced her to do. She fought with her cousin and was even mean to Tyler *GASP*. And when it was time for bed she screamed and cried. She never never never cries when it's time for bed and she's rarely mean to Tyler. She must have been having a bad day. So after listening to her crying in bed for long enough I went in to talk to her and she asked me to lay by her and scratch her back. As I laid with her she started talking about what she had done at preschool that day without any prompting from me. And she told me lots of things about school that she's never told me before. When I got up and left she was happier and ready to go to sleep, and I realized something about my daughter that I always knew deep down but had forgotten lately as she's been trying to be so independent, and that is that,

She needs me!

She still needs her mom to talk to her about her day, to help her sort through things so she knows how she's feeling, to process things she's learned or been thinking about, and she needs to know that no matter how busy I get or how many little people I'm in charge of, I still care about her as much, no, more than I did when it was just me and her. So even when she goes through these independent stages and is seemingly pushing me away, I will wait until she wants me again, and then she will know that her mama is always there for her.

"i pledge to the allegiance"

Alexis has been saying "The Pledge of Allegiance" every time she goes to preschool, though I think they are only working on the first few lines. So I asked her to say it for me the other day and she said, "I pledge to the allegiance to the flag". We've worked on it and now she says the first line correctly and it's probably one of the cutest things ever, especially because she jumps every time she gets to the end. I wanted all to enjoy so I figured out (with the help of Jeremy) how to upload video onto the computer and post it on this blog. You're welcome. And because this is a land of equal opportunity I'll post a video of Tyler doing something cute later. Of course then Jeremy will want me to post a video of him doing something cute...sigh...the cycle will never end.

camping

A few weeks ago Jeremy and I realized that this summer was the first summer in our married lives, and actually probably our whole lives, that we hadn't been camping. We decided we couldn't let that happen so we went camping this last Friday. Yes, we took our children. Why? Because we are crazy, or brave, if you want to be kind. Actually, overall things went pretty well. We were definitely tired the next day from a long night of not much sleep, but it was so fun to be together as a family, and Alexis and Tyler always seem to have fun playing together. As I was in the tent setting up our beds they were just being goofy and laughing with each other as they'd wrestle or roll around on the air mattress. It was one of those moments that mom's remember and helps make the harder times (kids screaming in the middle of the night) seem worth it. The next day we drove around the canyon some and it was so pretty because the leaves are starting to change. We took pictures but the bright reds and oranges didn't seem to show up as well on our camera. We'll probably drive up there again in a week or two to see them again. Here's some pictures, since I am practically incapable of posting without pictures.

The kids with the ever-present dirt on their faces.

One of the funny faces Alexis was making for the camera. I like it because it makes her look a little sloth like also.

Tyler sleeping in the car, something about the way he looks is just funny. Might be the hair.

The leaves changing, this picture definitely does not do it justice.

a weird conversation with my three year old

Alexis: Mom, do sippy cups lay eggs?
Me: What? No, sippy cups do not lay eggs.
A: Does water lay eggs?
M: no
A: Does milk lay eggs?
M: no
A: Does a rooster lay eggs?
M: (breathes a sigh of relief that she finally asks a normal question) No, roosters don't lay eggs, chickens do.
A: why?
M: Because the rooster is the boy and the chicken is the girl and the girl lays the eggs (sorry if I'm giving anyone an anatomy lesson...maybe I should have put a rating on this post).
A: So the rooster will get sad if it lays eggs?
M: Yes... (to myself, "because that means he's turned into a girl")

The whole conversation reminded me of a joke that I just made up.
Why'd the chicken cross the road?
To get to the other side where there was a sippy cup laying eggs!

I'm over here laughing my head off at that joke, but it's okay if none of you are, I usually find my jokes funnier than anyone else ever does. Although, I think Jeremy found it slightly funny but he won't admit it. Feel free to share your "Why'd the chicken cross the road?" jokes if you got 'em, but don't plan on topping mine!

i think i can, i think i can, i think i can

For anyone who loves the classic story "The Little Engine That Could", I recommend this version of it with pictures by Loren Long. It's the same original story, but with newer, more appealing pictures. Alexis LOVES this book, in fact I just finished reading it to her and thought I'd pass the good word along. The story gets kind of long in some parts (for a 3 year old anyway) so the pictures are great to keep her attention because there's lots to look at. And while I'm on the subject of recommending children's books, here's another one of my favorites. It's still a little long and old for Alexis, but she will sit through it. My sister gave it to her when she was born and I just think the story is really fun. It's called "Goodnight Opus" by Berkeley Breathed. Just thought I'd share these, because who doesn't love a good children's book?

...goodbye summer...

Summer is ending...fall is coming...then gloomy winter. I really don't like the winter, I especially don't like the snow. Sure, it's pretty, but that's all its got going for it. However, I do like fall, it's always nice to have cooler temperatures after the blistering heat. And today I remembered the best thing about fall...THE HAMMOCK!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE sitting in my hammock (it probably has something to do with my extreme laziness). We have a tiny yard, literally like 10 sq. feet, but for my birthday last summer Jeremy cemented posts on either end of the yard and bought me a hammock. It's easy to put up and take down and it's the best present I've ever gotten. Anyway, Alexis likes to sit in the hammock and read books with me. And today I took Tyler out there and he loved it too (though the picture doesn't convince you of that), as long as I kept swinging. It's a good thing I remembered about the hammock because I was pretty sad about the pool closing. And I'm really sad about winter coming but I'm trying to listen to what my dad told me. He said to make sure I don't dread the winter so much that I completely forget to enjoy fall. So here are some things that make fall fun:
*Halloween
*playing at the park without receiving 3rd degree burns from the slides
*leaves (especially since I don't have any trees, thus no raking)
*taking walks as a family in the evening
*rain
*annual KFC/canyon trip with Kole & Dorothy
*sweatshirts
*season premieres
*Tyler's 1st birthday!

And because I love summer soooo much I need to wish it a proper farewell. Here's my favorite things from this last summer:
*the trip to Lake Powell, obviously, since I wish I could live there. Thanks to my awesome in-laws for taking us and introducing me to something so great
*hiking with my dad, though I definitely wish I could have done more of it
*wearing shorts
*swimming
*Tyler learning to crawl...then very quickly learning to walk
*Jeremy's awesome father's day tie that Alexis made (see picture)
*visits from Aaron & Tricia
*visits from Jeremy's family
*wearing flip flops
*swimming
*totally awesome fireworks shows put on by my parents and Jeremy and I
*watching Jeremy fish
*the alpine slide (Jeremy liked it so much he left part of himself there)
*Rachel moving home
*Lehi Round-up Rodeo with the Shill's, of course
*swimming
*Alexis' birthday party
*the birth of another nephew and finally realizing what a miracle birth and the human body really is

Alright Fall, I'm ready for you.

Where did the time go?

How did Alexis go from this:
to this:
...in no time at all? I'm practically in tears here because my little baby went to preschool for the first time today. You probably are all reading this and saying, "get over it Lisa, it's just PRESCHOOL, wait until Kindergarten starts." Well, I know, I'm telling myself the same thing. But I still can't believe it! I leave her in nursery every week for two hours and I don't have a problem with it, but this is SCHOOL...or a watered down version of it anyway. There was a little table with puzzles set up, and name tags, scissors, little carpet squares to sit on, markers, other kids, and a TEACHER (well, it's a neighborhood preschool so none of us are certified...but still)! There's about a million things I could be worrying about right now: will the other kids be nice to her, will she be nice to the other kids? Will she listen to the teacher? Will she cry if she misses me? Will she miss me? Will she have fun? Instead all I'm thinking is, "I hope she doesn't pee on the floor." Well, I guess I better pull myself together and enjoy what quiet time I do have while she's gone and Ty Guy's napping. Oh I really really hope she doesn't pee on the floor.

Labor Day

So they say it's important for married couples to share a hobby or two, but Jeremy and I don't. Wait let me think about it again...nope, nothing. However, Jeremy has been able to trick me into joining him in one of his hobbies several times. Off-roading. More specifically off-roading in a truck when I am the passenger. I like it on ATV's, and I like it if I'm driving the truck, but I do not like it when I'm riding in the truck. Why not, you ask? Here's some reasons:
1. I don't like moving 10 mph for hours at a time.
2. It gives me heartburn (or at least it did yesterday)
3. I think that my insides are in the best place possible and I don't enjoy feeling like they are moving around. Someday someone is going to operate on me and my intestines are going to be where my spleen is supposed to be. I don't know where either of those things are really, but I'd like them to stay in one place.
4. You become extremely aware of how much fat you have on your body, especially if its on your stomach, because it's jiggling nonstop.

Also, have you ever watched your kids try to sleep while off-roading? It's just sad. Here's a picture of Tyler with some "shock absorbers" I made for him. His poor head was bouncing from one side of the seat to the other so I tried to shorten the distance it had to go.



I guess in all fairness to Jeremy, he didn't really trick me, we just have different understandings of the sentence, "There's this road I want to drive on". But when he shows up with a truck it becomes very clear to me that he doesn't mean the nice paved road I had envisioned. In the end it's fun to be with my family, the kids are always good sports about it, and there's something to be said for being so far away from everyone else and enjoying beautiful stuff like this:
Looking at that picture made me realize that we do have a common interest, we both love the outdoors. After our drive we met up with Jeremy's mom and sisters and their families for a BBQ. It's a good thing I don't have any issues with dirt because after about 20 minutes Tyler looked like this:
We had a good time, we ate (smores!), threw rocks in the river, and Alexis even braved the rapids to stand on a rock. We're so lucky to have great families that we enjoy doing stuff with.
And that was our Labor Day!