You know it's summer when.....

You eat breakfast with no shirt on because it has already been soaked by playing in water outside!!
You run outside as soon as you're dressed to start the daily collection of rollie pollies.
You play in the gutter every time a sprinkler is on up the street.  It's our suburban stream! Here Ollie is letting go of his rollie pollies (about 10 of them) so they can go swimming. Elliott is giving one of his toys a bath. 
Melty ice cream cones. We had to clean out the freezer to make room for the girls camp food (23 of those big muffins- 12 count- from Costco!!!! I could only fit 3 and the rest are spread throughout the neighborhoods' freezers....) So the neapolitan ice cream tub was the vicitim. We all had huge cones, and I still couldn't bring myself to throw it away, so I called a neighbor down the street who has 5 kids and made them take it. I kept asking Ollie if he was finished with his cone, but he wouldn't let me take it...... as he made a little, drippy trail from our front yard, to the backyard, into the play house and all over his shirt, shorts and shoes. I don't care- yay for summer!!! I'm so glad it's finally here!! 

My best digital friend

We ordered a new camera today! I'm so excited! My little camera is not working still, and I definitely need one for camp next week. So it should get here before the weekend. I do love my big camera, but it's too big to lug around everywhere I go- you've seen my purse contents and there is definitely no room for a monster camera. The new one we ordered is a Canon, so I'm a little nervous because I've only dealt with Sony cameras since digitals became our norm.  But it had all the best ratings and wasn't a bad deal either. Yippee! I'll let everyone know how it works!! 

Random pics

Here are some of my favorite pictures from this weekend. Nothing spectacular, just busy.

                     Elliott and his friend Brady.

Brothers after the game. I love that Ollie is just as hot and his cheeks are even more red than Elliott's from all of his runnin' around. Adam put Elliott's uniform on if you can't tell. The shin guards are supposed to go under his socks, and Adam knows that, but thought it was much easier to do it this way. 
Hugging Daddy. What a snuggler- we love our little Ollie. He's getting to be such a big boy now. :(

More snuggles. Ollie was just eating a popsicle, hence the bib.  

Can I see your ID?

We went to the Orem library this morning and we rode the elevator upstairs with a nice woman who told me about the summer reading program for kids. So while Adam was checking out our books (and his music) and the boys were playing monkey bars on the rails next to the windows, I went over to the children's section to ask about it. The older woman behind the counter started telling me about it. Then she asked me, "just for one child?" I said yes because I didn't think 2 year olds could be a part of it. Then she asked me, "Are you baby-sitting this summer?" I told her that I have two kids.... of my very own. She looked shocked and told me, "You look like a kid yourself!" I told her I was 29, but that I would take that as an awesome compliment.  I think she felt kind of bad and embarrassed, but I really DID take it as a compliment. Should I have been embarrassed or something? Because I wasn't. :)

the BIG runaround

Last night my sister and I planned to take our kids swimming at the local indoor pool before school gets out for the summer- before the crowds. So we got there at 10 AM and they informed us that we need to have some rubber diaper covers OVER the swim diapers we had on Ollie and Addie. They usually sell them there, but had run out over the holiday weekend. This is of course in response to the outbreak of sickness that plagued Utah pools last summer (and caused the ban of kids 5 and under from swimming for the last month of summer.) So I know it's a good thing, to have rubber diapers. So we pack the kids back in the cars, much to their dismay and head to the closest spot who may be selling them, Walgreens. Nothing. Next we go to Walmart. They had 4 hooks that usually hold them, but they were gone. So we try one last spot- Target, who is also out. Keep in mind it's not just park, run in and out. We lug our kids and their toys and keep them from running away in the store and break up fights and deal with tantrums etc, etc, etc. By the time we were done at Target, the kids were done and hungry and wondering why we hadn't gone swimming yet. So we got them some lunch, picked up some water shooters at the dollar store and came home to run through the sprinklers, which noone really did. I of course did all of this without getting ready for the day, and in my swim shorts with my flabby white legs hanging out all over. A day out on the town and I looked awesome. What a crazy morning. Here are some pics I took with my huge camera (that IS working) from the rest of the afternoon. I think the boys still had fun and they were more patient than I was about the whole situation. Hopefully someone will learn from this post to get rubber pants before they go. I should open a booth selling them outside pools this summer and make some extra cash! 

Cookie Time. Madison, Elliott and Benny watching Speed Racer Cartoons (from the 60's.)

My niece, Addie is just so cute! Plus I love babies and grass- they are always so timid. I think she would rather not put her foot down! 




                          My sister, Linds and baby Addie.
                               Benny's swimming pool.

The long weekend

I haven't posted anything for a bit because my camera is broken, and I always like a good picture with my posts! It does this every once in a while (thanks to little hands) and usually starts working later on, but this time I'm not so sure.  We had a fun long weekend. On Friday night we saw the Indiana Jones movie, which was pretty entertaining even if it was a little out there. It made me think how fun it would be to discover some places that have been hidden for so many years. 

On Saturday I helped throw a shower for my friend, Heather who is having her first little boy any second. Later, we took Elliott to his soccer game, which hadn't been scheduled for that Saturday because of Memorial Day Weekend, so we were the only ones there- woops! Elliott said, "Oh well, that gives us more time to play at the park!" So we played, Elliott in his shin guards and soccer uniform. We rolled down the hills too- I hate getting old, because I didn't feel that great after doing so. :(  We packed our stuff for the weekend and left to meet Adam's family for dinner- it was Christie's birthday dinner a couple of weeks early. We ate at The Macaroni Grill. I could eat that bread all day long. Even the boys were dipping theirs in the oil and pepper. We headed straight up to the condo in Midway. We did have to stop at Target for some pajamas for me, which I forgot. Elliott kept asking how in the world I could forget them. I was only packing for Elliott, Ollie, myself and our groceries for the next few days, along with activities and toys for the boys. I did put Adam in charge of the movies we were going to watch. Getting away for the weekend used to be so much less complicated! 

On Sunday we slept in and made a huge, yummy breakfast. Then we just hung out, the boys played and I started "The Princess Academy" for a book club. We went swimming in the pool for a bit, although we spent most of the time in the hot tub. We came back, had lunch and then a long nap. Does this day get any better?? Oh yeah- it does. We got some gelato from the little bakery at the hotel. Between the 4 of us we got chocolate, green apple, pineapple and raspberry. Pineapple was the best- it reminded us of the Dole ice cream in Hawaii. We drove around Heber at night looking for a good place to eat and concluded on Pizza Hut. It was really tasty, although the restaurant was a dive!! 

Monday, we had another big breakfast, I finished up my book and then we cleaned all morning. We left around 1:00 and when we were getting into the car Elliott said he missed the condo already and asked when we were coming back. He loves it there. On the way up he said we should move there and go visit our house every once in a while. I said he would miss his friends and he said they could move up there too. We stopped by this awesome Mexican restaurant in Midway on the way out, which I can't even say, so there is no way I can spell it now. It was so great. I would drive to Midway just to eat there again. Good thing we are going back in two weeks for our ward campout. We drove down through Park City and stopped by the outlet stores, just like the rest of Utah, since it was a rainy Memorial Day. We braved the crowds and found some good deals on clothes for the boys. We stopped by my parents house for a BBQ on the way home. We were exhausted when we got back, but I started laundry anyway, and watched my Tivo after the boys went to bed. It was a great weekend. It's always so good to get away, and even better to come home!! (I think I always say that!)

Mommyhood

So Elliott just asked me what I want to be when I "grow up a little." I said I only want to be a Mom. He said (in amazement) "And just do NOTHING?????" 

Movie Reviews

We watched a couple of movies this weekend (I know- we're super exciting...) so I thought I'd do a review of them and some others I've recently seen:

Lars and the Real Girl- (rented) This was a funny, sweet movie. It wasn't at all like I expected. I even cried (of course.) It had a really great message too.

Iron Man- Better than I thought it would be. Even after all the neighbors told us how great it was, I still wasn't convinced I would like it. The only reason we ended up watching was because of our Friday night baby-sitting group- we had a baby-sitter, time was ticking and it was the only movie that would fit into our schedule. It had funny parts and I think Robert Downey Jr. was the perfect guy for it. 

Baby Mama- I love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler- who were the stars of the movie.  It was sweet and had it's funny moments, but it seems like I had already seen every funny part from the previews. This made it not as good as I thought- but it was still good. 

Who Killed the Electric Car?- (rented) This was a documentary and I still can't believe it really happened!! I never knew anything about the electric cars, so it was pretty eye opening. It is a must see if you haven't seen it yet. 

Across the Universe- (rented) I looooved this movie because I love the Beatles. It stars Jim Sturgess, who may be one of favorite new actors.The longer the movie played, the more artsy it got. Plus- I just wish real life could be like a musical. For my boys it is.....:) I also went and got the soundtrack, which is fun.

21- I really liked it. It was interesting, funny and suspenseful. Plus Jim Sturgess was in it!

Juno- Loved the whole thing. The soundtrack was great (Belle and Sebastian and other greats.) The humor was quick and clever. And I loved the actors- they were all perfect. 

Vantage Point- I had no expectations going into it, so it was pretty entertaining. Lots of blood and guts though- so not my favorite. 

Horton Hears a Who- A fun take on the old classic. My boys loved it too. 

What I've learned from this post is- 

1. I love going to the movies.

2. I'm not that hard to please (as long as it isn't scary, vulgar or mean.)

3. I like sweet, funny movies- which I would see more of if Adam were game.

4. I love having a baby-sitting group. I watch 8 kids one Friday a month and then I get free baby-sitting for my kids 3 Fridays a month.....by adults!! It's the best thing ever! We always used to go to the movies and then we had kids. We actually took Elliott when he was a baby because he would just fall asleep. Then he started to run around and that was the end of that. It seemed like we went for a few years without seeing any adult movies (in theaters) at all- so it's fun to go again. 

Race for the Cure

Last Saturday we ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for the cure. My group of running friends met up and so did my family! It was pretty amazing. There were so many people there (an expected 18,000!!!) that it took us about 10 minutes after they started the race to get to the STARTING line! On the race course all you could see were people everywhere! People could wear signs on their backs that said, "In memory of..." or "In Celebration of..." and it was really sobering to see some that said, "In memory of my mom, my grandma, and my aunt" and a lot with many names on them. There were also funny signs that said "In memory of Steph's left breast" and "Big or small, let's save them all!" It felt good to know that a lot of the money will go towards breast cancer research. Another one of my favorite parts might have been that I didn't have to organize getting everyone together! My friend, Rachel got the girls together and my sister, Michelle got our family together! It was pretty relaxing. Great weather, great company and brunch at Mimi's with my family afterwards-which I highly suggest everyone doing sometime because it was really good- so fun!

Linds, Naoma, Sini, Lindsay, Rachel



Estacia, Michelle, Anikka, Mike, Linds, Sini, My Mom

See if you can find us.....Lindsay, Naoma, Rachel and Sini

Mother's Day

I was blessed with the sweetest Mom and I just wanted to wish her a happy Mother's Day today! She was so fun to grow up with- going on hikes, taking us cross country skiing and laughing our heads off at silly jokes. She is always helping everyone around her, whether it be taking someone flowers from her awesome gardens, going to the church when no one is around to help weed and prune their flowerbeds, or helping put shingles on the neighbors' roofs. She's definitely one of the strongest women I know. She has had so many trials in her life, and just keeps moving forward. It has never been a question whether or not she will stay true to her faith- she always does. She is definitely more interested in spiritual things rather than the worldly things- I love it. I want to be more like her. The way she gives of herself as a mother and friend is amazing and has helped me be a better mom and friend. I love you Mom! Thanks for all you do for me and our whole family!

In her younger years (above) and teaching Elliott to ski in her backyard in Jan '08. (below)


I'm also lucky to have a great Mother-in-law, Karen. She has an awesome sense of humor, she's really witty and so smart, not to mention she's gorgeous!! She is such a caring Mom and is so interested in her kids' lives. Back in the day as I was getting to know Adam's family more, I was really surprised to learn that she went to all of their games and events, knew all of her kids' friends names, knew all of their parents' names, etc. etc. I just think it's awesome that she is so involved and cares about what we are up to in our lives. She's an awesome Grammy to our boys too. Sometimes I'm nervous that she has to put up with me- the only daughter in law. But she's always so great, fun and loving. Love ya Karen! Happy Mother's Day! Thanks for helping me be a better mom and always making me feel part of the family!

Elliott and Grammy (May '08)

Spring Cleaning......sort of.

Ahhh Spring! Is it finally here or not? It seems like months ago that I posted that my running group and I had run through the whole winter. I really spoke too soon on that one, because it has snowed many times since then, and it's been so cold that we have had to run with lots of layers until just barely. On Monday it was really warm and we joked that we didn't recognize each other because we were just in our t-shirts and shorts. Seriously- one long winter/cold spring.

So today I was spring cleaning. Elliott was at preschool, Ollie was playing peacefully (as long as E isn't around) and the 5 year old neighbor boy we've been watching all week was making a lego masterpiece. I was deep cleaning my kitchen floor- which I don't do enough. It had started to sprinkle outside and the wind was blowing a little, so I opened my back door really wide and let the smell of rain come in. It was SO nice. I kept thinking- "this is what spring cleaning should be like!" The yummy, fresh air fueled me to clean more and I felt so good, just getting everything clean. When I was finished cleaning the kitchen sink and bathroom, I decided I was done for the moment because I had to go pick up E. I decided to do one last thing before we left- to put the soda left over from a previous young women activity into the fridge for tonight's activity. I'm sure you can guess what happened......but as I was putting it in the fridge, one can broke loose and fell to the ground. It just happened to be a black cherry shasta and it went EVERYWHERE!!! Seriously- five feet in every direction!! All down the fridge and door, all over the freshly cleaned floor, the bar stools, into the pantry, all over the cupboards and all over my shoes, feet and pants. I just stood there in shock as dark red liquid dripped and settled into every little nook and cranny it could find. I said aloud, "Did that really just happen? I can't believe that just happened." Ollie and Dalton came running to see and said it looked like blood. The funny thing was that I wasn't even that mad. It must have been all of that fresh air. I just wiped everything up, re-mopped half the floor and changed my clothes. This isn't the most unusual thing that I have done- I'm pretty clumsy in the kitchen....and everywhere else. A few weeks ago Adam was saying he felt so clumsy the last few days and asked if I ever felt that way. I just looked at him like he was crazy. It's pretty funny. I think this is why I could never be a nurse or something- one little mess up could be a big deal.

Soccer Weekend

On Saturday we got to go to the Real Salt Lake soccer game against LA Galaxy with our friends, Rich and Abby. It was a lot of fun and perfect weather. The view of Beckham wasn't too bad either- that guy is built! ;)


That's Beckham on the far right (in white shorts) after he gave his jersey to a lucky fan......supposedly he does this after every game. It's kind of blurry because my camera's batteries were dying. Did I mention he wasn't hard to look at?

This might have been the boys' favorite part- stairs of water.

Here are some cute pics from Elliott's game yesterday:

Elliott kicking- nice form!



Getting a pep talk during half time.

Utah Lake

Last week we ventured down to the marina for a picnic the city was putting on. It was chilly out, but we bundled up and brought blankets and our sack lunches and were ready to brave the wind. Oh man- what a wind! We were right by the lake and we could barely breathe! We had our backs to the wind, but it kept taking our breath away! Our lunch sack was fighting to get away and our bread dried out almost instantly. Needless to say, the picnic ended pretty quickly. I let the boys walk on the dock for a minute and then we headed for home.



I thought the clouds looked so cool in these pictures. They were so menacing and moving so fast- you could see the storm coming. I love that there's blue sky popping through too.



I don't know if you can tell the strength of the wind from this picture- but I was scared it would blow the boys in the water! It started snowing like crazy on the 10 minute drive home......and later it was sunny again (but still freezing!) We'll have to go back when it's warmer. We don't go enough even though it's pretty close!

Purse Tag

I got Purse Tagged- so I emptied out my purse and took pictures. Then I thought I wouldn't- because who really wants to see the stuff in my purse?? I was checking out the picture and had to laugh at all of the toys in there- so I changed my mind and decided to post!

My $17.99 Target special. I get lots of compliments on this fun white purse. I'm always surprised because it's just my sensible purse, with lots of pockets- so it works for me. (It even has a cell phone pocket!) What rules about white after Labor Day??? :)


Clockwise from top center- my awesome Hobo wallet from Adam- it fits everything!
Garbage
Kid Snacks- Fruit leathers, fruit snacks and yogurt raisins
That little orange thing is a tape measure- I looove having it in my purse- it comes in so handy!
A Pen
Toys! Not light, fluffy toys- big, heavy cars, airplanes and trucks! Every so often my purse gets so heavy and this is the reason every time!
The necessities- chapstick, hand sanitizer, tampons, lip gloss, band-aids, tylenol
Coupons and Gift cards.

And there you have my exciting purse contents.

Soccer

We decided to sign Elliott up for soccer this year because he ALWAYS wants us to kick a ball with him, or throw him a baseball or a frisbee. He also has a lot of energy and always wants us to watch him do his tricks. So we thought what could be better than him playing soccer while we watch and make it a family event?

So he had his first soccer game yesterday. It was so funny to watch! All these little boys (and a few girls) were chasing the ball around the field in a big glob. We had the first practice during the week and Elliott was really excited. On Friday night when I was getting him in bed I told him to get some rest so he could play well in his soccer game in the morning. He said, "Oh mommy- I don't want to play soccer anymore. There are big boys that will knock me over." I told him they were all his same size and age, and they wouldn't knock him down. But he seemed pretty nervous.

In the morning, I let him lounge and watch cartoons and we played at the park, but he still kept telling me he didn't want to play. He didn't want to get his soccer shorts, shin guards and soccer socks on- until we got one side on and I told him he looked like a transformer. He loves transformers and that's his team name, so he felt really cool walking around like a robot after that.

When we got to the field, the coach had the boys in a line kicking the ball into the net, so Elliott joined in. Then the game started and Elliott was a little clueless, but he did great! All he knows about soccer is to "get it in the net" so he went for the wrong goal a few times, and maybe kicked it away from his own teammates, and zoned out looking anywhere but the game he was in, but he is getting the hang of it. It wasn't until after the game that I thought how funny it was that I just put him in a field and said, "Go play soccer!" and he had no idea what he was doing! I guess you have to learn somehow!

That's Elliott on the left with his hoodie on. Don't let the sunny weather fool you- it was freezing and windy!


The "Transformers" in their huddle. Elliott is one of the youngest (and smallest) on the team, and one of the few that hasn't played on a team before, so I was really proud of him for being so brave.


Although you can't tell from this picture, he was so happy after the game. He felt really special getting a capri sun, granola bar and oranges that a teammate's mom brought. He didn't want to take his soccer clothes off when he came home.


Ollie watched for the first five minutes and then found this little patch of dirt to keep him busy. Huge fields of grass and he finds the dirt- of course!

Tagged

Elliott took this pic the other night. Since I have no others, this is what I'm posting. Pretty funny.

How To Play This Game of Tag:
Post these rules on you blog. List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Here it is....

JOYS :
1-Adam- He's so funny, smart, interesting, likes good music.......and handsome! ;)
2-Making my boys laugh, especially when it's mid-cry. I love that!
3-Elliott and Ollie's funny sayings, their cuddles and their smiles. They are the sweetest boys!!

FEARS:
1-Death- even though it shouldn't be scary.
2-Scary dreams and scary shows- I always think of them for a long time after.
3-Falling down the stairs. I know- weird.

GOALS:
1-Teach and play with my boys more.
2-To enjoy the little things more.
3-Become a better person, mother and friend.

OBSESSIONS:
1- Paper. I love scrapbooking paper sooo much! I wish I could wear it or something!
2-Jeans. I love them! Adam always knows what to get me for birthdays!
3- Toppings on food. I love loading up on them. Baked potatoes- load me up. Ice Cream Sundays- pile them high. Dips for chips, bread, fruit etc. Cookies- if it doesn't have chocolate chips, it isn't worth it for me to eat it. I'm not sure if that falls under toppings, or chocolate- which I loooove too! Yum! (I know- not very healthy of me!)

RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME:
1- I grew up with 11 kids in my family and I'm second to youngest, although I try to act like the oldest. Heh Heh.
2-I love taking naps. Always have, always will.
3- My Mom's whole family lives in Finland, which is how she discovered my name. I've been there a few times, and am aching to go back soon.
4- One more- I cry at everything, movies, books, news stories, commercials, suppernanny.........it's pretty ridiculous.

People I'm tagging: Misty, Linds V, Telisse, Tagen and anyone else who wants to do it- this is kind of a fun one!

Elliott

Here are a few funny things Elliott has said the last few days:

"A meteor, a bone and a hammer are strong. They can break things."

Me- "Who made you so sweet?"
E- "Myself!"

I was telling the boys we might not be able to go see the free bird show at the marina that our city is holding today because it's rainy and windy out. I was saying maybe we should do something else that's really fun. Elliott said, "Yeah! Maybe we can play checkers!?"

As we drove to the zoo last week, Elliott was looking at the mountains. He said, "that's funny that there are houses on the mountain! How do they eat their dinner- it would just slide off the table!"

"When we die, do our bones keep growing?"

"If we went to the moon- we could kind of fly because there is no gravity."

Backyard Playground

So I've been dreaming all winter long about getting a swing set for our backyard. Since last year when I saw this at Costco, I've been trying to talk Adam into it. He finally agreed it would be fun for the boys and we were able to build it last weekend! I shouldn't say "we" because all I did was put the swings together. It took Adam and my brother in law Brian (and a little help from my Dad and the neighbor kids) from 9 AM until 9 PM on Saturday just for the house part. Then on Monday Adam did the rest with some help from his friend Jason. What a job! The boys have had so much fun already! I think even after the novelty of the thing wears off, the kids can go out there and make up new ways to play.








"Look Mommy! No Hands!" (Why is it so cool to do everything with no hands.......I remember doing it when I was little too!)

Cousins

Elliott, Elli, Benny and Ollie

I wanted to post this cute picture. We were making strawberry shakes last weekend and all the kids wanted to see the "whirlpool" inside the blender. They were all leaning in just enough so everyone could see. Just a cute picture of cousins!

Meetings and Thank You Cookies

Today I had a meeting at 8 AM for church. Then I taught the lesson in Young Womens (fun lesson on extended families by the way!) Then tonight I had another meeting for Girls' Camp. Busy Sunday......and next week looks like more of the same. (Actually camp is six weeks away, so we are super busy until then!) So I came home from my meeting tonight and Adam and the boys weren't here because they went to see Grammy and Grandpa. The house was all dark and I was feeling rather glum without my boys here to greet me, so I went to let our kitty outside and there was a plate of cookies (chocolate pudding cookies!!) on my porch! Included was a nice little card with notes from my next door neighbor girls, Ashley and Nicole. Seriously- they are the best! It really made my day. You just go and go and go and sometimes think- am I doing anything good, right, necessary or important? Little things like these cookies and note help me remember that people are benefitting from all of these meetings! That girls are learning and growing and succeeding in their lives, sometimes with a little help from a thought from our little lessons and activities.

So my challenge for everyone reading this blog entry is this- tell someone in your life " thank you" this week. Email a friend and let them know how they have influenced you. Take some cookies to your awesome next door neighbor or to your kid's teacher. I guarantee it will make their day! Love you all by the way! ;)