Leaving Las Vegas!

On our way to Idaho, we passed through Las Vegas, then Utah.
Katie and Justin were kind enough to host us on our travels, and we had a great time hanging out with them.
The boys enjoyed Addie's Jeep (she still can't reach the pedals, but she let Jaxon take her for a ride) a little too much.
They want one of their own, I'm afraid.
My favorite picture is the one in the middle. Jaxon threw the Jeep into reverse and didn't look as he backed up. I caught a shot of Justin, frantically saving Adlen from being run over by her cousins. Whew! That was close!
We're excited to see them again next week when we head back to UT (this time with Mark) for the Sunstone Symposium.
(I'm publishing our trip in phases, I took 591 photos, and I can't possibly just do one post!)

My Chessmaster

"No, Mommy! If you move your rook there, then I'll capture it with my knight!"
Ah, indeed, Jaxon.
You brilliant chess player. Please stop waking me up at 6 A.M. telling me that you have the chess board set up and you want me to come play.
I don't play chess before 7.

Twinkie Toes

Such cute toes. Honestly, I'm not a fan of feet, but I LOVE baby feet.

Glorious

I joined a Flickr photo group and the second challenge was to take a photo of a body part with writing on it.
So, I lined up the boys, wrote on their backs with lipstick, "It tickles, Mommy!" put a book and cheerios in front of them and snapped as many shots as I could.
Jaxon thought it was awesome, and said, "Aren't we glorious?"
So, that's what I named this photo.
Glorious.

Our Trip to the Mall

Normally a trip to the mall isn't that exciting, but we had a nice family outing.

Here's the double-decker carousel Mark took the boys on.

We gave Fin a taste of vanilla ice cream. (50 seconds long)

Good times. He'll be a lover of Dairy Queen just like his mama.

Here's Asher at the pet store. My kids want a dog soooo bad! (7 seconds long)

Haven't laughed this hard all week

I've been to Dooce a few times, but her post today nearly made me pee my pants.
Hope you like it.

Always Crack Your Windows!

We had a scary experience today.
After a quick trip to Walmart with Ash and Fin (yes, I do now shop at Walmart) I dumped the stuff in the car and wheeled the kids down to a furniture store to look for bar stools and waste a few minutes before I had to pick up Jaxon from day camp.
When I came back 10 or 15 minutes later, I noticed the sliding passenger door on my mini-van was still open (gasp!) and the people next to me were loading in their groceries. Well, that was stupid, I forgot to shut the door with my key when I left.
So, I loaded Asher into his carseat, buckled him, tossed in my purse, shut the door and went around the van to put Finley into his seat. Unfortunately his side was locked. So, I went back around to Asher's door, which was also locked. (I had locked the car without shutting the door before I went to the furniture store)
"No way!," I thought. I've never done this before and it's 103 degrees outside.
Asher was already crying about something else, so I just went as fast as I could into Walmart and asked for help. The nice old lady told me she would get security to help me. I asked for a hanger because my windows were cracked and I thought I could pull the lock up. They didn't have a hanger, but I saw a feather duster with medium length handle (not long like a broom). I ran back out to the car and shoved the straight end into the 2 inch gap of my windows and realized I couldn't hook it over the lock to pull it up.
But, I did see the lock switch and I managed to get the handle over there to push the switch up, unlocking all doors at once.
Hooray!
Asher was hot and sweaty. He was still fussy, but I gave him his water and turned on the A/C.
By this time, an onlooker was glad to see me get the car open and said to his 2 year old daugher, "I'm going to teach you how to unlock the car." It's a good idea, especially if they're not buckled in.
As I was leaving, the old lady and security guard were walking through the parking lot looking for me.
I honked, stopped, got out, and gave them back the duster with a big thanks.
Then they informed me that the fire trucks were on their way. "Really?" I asked.
Yes, because they don't waste any time when a child is locked in the car.

Whew, it was a little scary, and I will remember to always keep my keys with me until I sit down and start the car.
A little blessing and a reminder to always keep the windows cracked.

Jaxon and Mommy at the Lake

Jaxon and Cami on the tube


On Friday, my mom watched Asher and Fin so I could take Jaxon to the lake with my dad, brother David, and sister Cami. My dad's friend, Dave owns the boat and invited us along with his kids, Alexis and Joey.
It was a full boat. (I estimated that our 8 persons exceeded the 1150 lb maximum capacity, but it just made a deeper wake)






Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful getting up on the wakeboard (It's been years since I've done it!). However, Jaxon and I had a great time on the tube. He went with me, with Cami, and with his Uncle David and favorite friend Joey. They had a great time.

While we were riding I told Jaxon, "Let's go home and ask Daddy if we can have a boat!"
(what is with my hair? wow!)










Here's David on the wakeboard. He was trying to get up, then go over the wake 4 times for his boy scout merit badge.


















Alexis (our new favorite babysitter) and Aunt Cami.
Aren't they darling?











Jaxon with Joey and David





Obviously they were going pretty slow if Jaxon could put his arms out, but he was having such a great time!

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Some Camping Video

The video is of Adlen, Jaxon, and Finley. Apparently Justin was in the background filling up his air mattress. Sorry for the noise.
Here's another pic. It looks like my arm is around Justin, but it's actually Mark's.
Not that I need to explain myself.

A funny camping story:
Saturday night, we got the kids ready for bed early (they'd been up since 5) and Adlen wanted to sleep in the tent with her cousins. So, she walked over to climb in and Jaxon opens the tent flap, takes one look at her and says, "Sorry, you can't come in here, you don't have your pajamas on." and zips the flap closed.
Justin (who thinks Jaxon is hilarious) laughs and says imitating Jaxon, "Didn't you know there's a dress code to get in here, you freak show!"
I laughed so hard I cried.
We did let her in the tent, when we convinced Jaxon that her day clothes were also her night clothes. Then she promptly crawled out the doggy door.

The Longest Day of the Year

 
 
 


We celebrated the Summer Solstice by camping with Katie (Mark's sister), her husband Justin, and their 2 yo Adlen. Despite extreme temperatures, few trees, and crazy kids, we managed to have a good time. Unfortunately, Jaxon and I got strep throat while we were there, so we're hoping no one else will get it.
Saturday morning began at 5 am when the kids were up before the sun. All day we kept looking at the clock, "Is it really only 10 am?" etc. The evening went until we could no longer handle the children and put them in front of whatever media we could, ipod, dvd, books.
We did give our nephew Josh a quick call because he was baptized on Saturday (amazing that we had cell phone reception) but it wasn't too long before my phone battery died.
In the end it was fun, especially to see our kids play with Katie and Justin's dog, Buster. Jaxon had a great time fishing with his dad and even caught 6 little fish with his Spiderman fishing pole.
Although we were and are exhausted and still haven't unpacked the car, we are glad that we took this trip out of the 114 degree heat up to the cool (well cooler) high country.
There are more pics on my webalbum.

The Gift of Friendship

 I don't remember when I met Brittany. I think it was in junior high. She was a cheerleader (but, I didn't like them too much) and I think she wore glasses, but I'm not sure.
During the summer after junior high, Brittany was involved in a terrible car accident. She was the passenger and was seriously injured. Her face was really cut up from the windshield and she spent a fair amount of time in the hospital.

Our friendship blossomed during HS, where we shared crazy-hard AP classes and made trips to Dairy Queen when we should have been studying. Brittany had the best of both worlds, she was cute and popular, but also smart and down-to-earth. Even though she had it all, I still remember watching her squeeze small pieces of glass from the scars on her face years after her car accident. She never made a big deal about it, but I know it was a very traumatic event that was difficult to overcome.

Fast forward 2 years. The summer of 2000, Britt are friends from a distance, because she went to Ricks when I went to BYU. Still, we're delighted to find that we're both getting married, in the same temple, 2 weeks apart (in the same room!) She looks great on her wedding day, cute curly hair and a slightly tilted tiara (which I tried to 'fix,' much to her dismay.) She is so happy. She snagged a great guy, an engineer named Doug.

After that, we're both at BYU, Britt and I hang out with our husbands as newlywed couples to play Rook and learn how to be married. Before too long, Britt is pregnant. Savannah is born in November of 2001 and she has some difficulties. The diagnosis is Russell Silver Syndrome, a very rare congenital disorder. Savannah won't breastfeed or take a bottle, and her severe reflux means she has to be fed through a tube in her nose. When we were both at Wyview, Mark and I babysat Savannah once or twice. We learned a lot and really enjoyed her cute babyness (I also got prepped for my kids who had projectile vomiting.)

The next July, Jaxon was born and diagnosed with severe hemophilia. Brittany was one of the first people I called. She cried with me as we talked about our special kids. I remember how comforting it was to have a friend how knew first-hand the disappointment and fear that I felt.

The years have passed and we have both moved back to Arizona and have our second babies: Brittany had Mikenna in 2003 and I had Asher in 2006.

While she was pregnant with her third child and first boy, Britt was finishing up nursing school. She asked me to watch her girls while she did her last semester. So, her girls and my boys played a few times a week. I enjoyed watching them grow and play together. In March I found out I was pregnant with Finley just as Britt was in her 3rd trimester with Daxton. He was born May 31st 2007, just before she took and passed her nursing licensing test.

A year later, it's harder to get together as much because we have six kids between the two of us and Brittany works part-time at a hospital's NICU. We still get go on double dates or family picnics occasionally, but not as often as we'd like.

One week ago today, Brittany sent out an email that broke my heart.
While she and her husband were hiking back from a weekend at Havasupai, her 12 month old baby Daxton was killed in a household accident. Four hours later they came to the hospital to say goodbye to their little boy who just turned one. In the days that have followed, I have thought about her and her family, and how much I love them.
I visited Brittany and hugged her. She cried. I cried. I held her hand while she told me about the casket she'd just picked out, "It's so small," she wept.
But, I can't comfort her in the way that she comforted me nearly 6 years ago. I don't know how it feels to lose a child.

I just know how much it hurts to watch a friend I love lose her child.

It's terrible. Even now, exactly a week later, I don't feel better. The funeral was intense, but the highlight was when Brittany and Doug shared their memories of baby Daxton. Although the chapel was full of united sobs and sniffles, there was a spirit of hope and healing.

So, tonight I wanted to write about my friendship with Brittany. Our lives have been entwined, and strangely parallel. And although I don't know if I'll ever stop grieving for her loss, I know that I'll never stop being her friend. She's gone through so many difficult trials, and she always comes away stronger. Everybody needs a friend like that.

Ode to a Toad

We have three little toadlets
who love their Dad.
When he wrestles and tickles
they're happy and glad.

From dawn until dusk
These toadlets will beg
for a chance to be cuddled
or just hang on his leg.

Jaxon loves to play chess
Asher's happy to sing
And Finley's full of smiles
Doing any old thing

But the best part of all
Is the love that they share
Whether Dad's near or far
They always know that he cares

 
 
 

If my boys don't like ballroom, maybe this?

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Try JibJab Sendables!

Vinegar: My New Best Friend

So, a few years ago I bought this little book at the grocery check-out called "102 Ingenious Uses for Vinegar" or something like that. It reminded me of my grandma, who uses vinegar to wash windows.
Anyway, I stuffed it in a drawer when Mark made fun of it, but pulled it out tonight while trying to find our pool key. (we had a great FHE at the pool, btw).
While eating my banana-brownie split I flipped through this booklet and found an entry for unclogging drains. "Pour 1/2 cup baking soda then 1 cup vinegar into drain, wait till foaming stops, then rinse with hot water."
That helped my yucky kitchen drain run a little faster.
The next recipe was for speeding up slow drains. "Pour 1/2 cup salt followed by 2 cups boiling vinegar. Then rinse with hot and cold water. Hmm, I tried this one next. Unfortunately, the good work done by the first treatment was undone as the sink re-clogged filling with nasty water.
But, I thought it might be working slowly, so I waited, then got my plunger and voila! The best draining sink I have ever seen! Hooray!
This may seem like a small accomplishment, but I've tried a bottle of Draino, which is expensive and doesn't work, and is not "green." So, vinegar is my new best friend and I will keep my little booklet out and share my good news with everyone!

Home again, home again!

So I spent the weekend in the beautiful Colorado Rockies on a Mormon Feminist Retreat. (I blogged about it here.)



Even though it was nice to get away, it was certainly nice to come home.

I had my camera in my purse when I got to the car, so I snapped a few pictures of my sweet family, who was so excited to see me!

If you look closely, you will see that Jaxon lost another tooth, and we think he swallowed this one as well.


Mark had the kids for 2 days straight and did a wonderful job. The kitchen was clean and he even scrubbed our toilet (which is more than I do!)

I'm planning to travel the weekend of Father's Day, so I know that the kids will be fine while I'm out of town. (although Finley missed me most, I guess, and the breast pumping was a pain)

Still, I'm really lucky to have such a great children and a wonderful husband!

Happy Graduation, Cami!

This is our first attempt at a video and is in honor of Cami's graduation. Unfortunately the rain will prevent us from attending tonight (they are doing it indoors and only allowing 2 guests per graduate). But, we'll party hard with her on Monday and she knows we love her!


More super videos to come!
PS, thanks for the inspiration, Annie.

A few firsts

This week Jaxon learned to ride his bike without training wheels.
He talks to his bike and says, "Steady, boy, steady. . ."
And it listens to him, according to his report.
He's also had a few spills, but he's been ready to ride a "two-wheeler" for a while now, but since Mark never got around to it, I finally took matters into my own hands.
All he needed was a little push to get started then some instruction about starting while balancing the bike. He was a pro.


Little Fin has 2 new teeth! They came in within 2 days and on the day he had shots and I had no idea. He wasn't even fussy. This little guy is all smiles, all the time.
What a lucky mom I am. :)

Mother's Day (a week late)

Mother's Day was wonderful this year (as compared to last year when Mark was out of the country for 2 weeks)

This Mother's Day was a real treat. I woke up to Mark making breakfast with the kids' help and I quickly took the opportunity to jump in the shower so we wouldn't be late for church. Which is why, my breakfast ended up on the toilet.

It was supposed to be breakfast in bed, but I was in the shower, so it was breakfast in the bathroom, courtesy of Jaxon.
He didn't understand why it was funny that he put in the bathroom, but when I reminded him that he put it on the toilet, he did think it was funny.
And, the Egg McMuffin was delicious.

We had my mom and the rest of the fam over for dinner as well. It was a fun time and I got my mom a set of Miracle Blade knives for mother's day. (she's a fan of practical gifts and I got the same set for Christmas and I love them)

We had a nice time chatting and playing with the kids.

I've decided to forego uploading all of my favorite pics to the blog, but they are on our webalbum if you're interested.

Busy Weekend

First, while Jaxon was in the hospital, my mom turned 50!
WooHoo!
I was so happy for her. My siblings and I found a picture of her in her twenties and on the mat around it we wrote 50 things we love about her. I think she liked it.





On Saturday, Jaxon had a really loose tooth. He wouldn't let Mark pull it out, and when I came home from the store a few mintues later, I noticed it was gone.
He swallowed his first tooth! Poor kid. So, we wrote a note to the tooth fairy. She was very nice and left him a dollar under his pillow. (he calls it green money, to distinguish it from coins)





Here's a pic of me and Fin at my mom's birthday party. We celebrated it at the park by eating Subway and watching Asher let go of the balloons.











Asher and Finley chilling on the couch. Asher's into Cars (Lightening McQueen) and during dinner, I was playing music on my phone and one of the songs from the movie came on. He asked me to play it over and over, signing "more" and saying, "More Keen (for McQueen) It was pretty funny.