3 Men & A Mommy

New Blog

2010-02-16T23:07:00.000-07:00

I have a new blog! Check it out at emily-n-co.blogspot.com.

Long Lost Blog

2009-07-13T16:11:00.004-06:00

Some of you may believe we have fallen of the planet. Truth is we don't have the Internet right now. And just because we're not informing you of all the crazy things our boys do doesn't mean the craziness has seized. So hang in there, we'll be back...

Injuries

2009-03-05T21:19:00.004-07:00

I know that this isn't a great way to break back into the blogging world (at least I hope I'm back), but these are just about the only pictures I've taken lately. These injuries also happen to be some of the most exciting things that have happened recently.

On February 6, Ethan fell face first on the floor and took a nice accidental bite out of his lip. He was very sad, and it took him a while to calm down enough to let me take this picture.

This is what it looked like a couple of days later. No, that's not a maggot. :)

On February 23, while I was still in Salt Lake (for my awesomely amazing and fun Celine Dion concert) Ethan fell and hit his ear on the edge of our rocker. These photos were both taken the next day.

Ethan seems to me to be a very fast healer. He always babies his little everyday scratches more than he babied these two injuries. He was a real trooper.

Just today Ethan slammed Spencers little pinky in their bedroom door. I couldn't get a good picture, but this is one of his worst injuries to date.

For a little update: Spencer is talking more and more everyday. He is a real stinker and cracks me up all the time. Ethan is learning to read books and write more letters. He is always making me a proud mama.

Holy Cow!

2009-01-24T10:34:00.002-07:00

It has been WAY too long since I posted. It is driving me crazy, but we don't have the internet at home yet. I can't make myself write any worthwhile posts at someone else's house, so it may be a while until you see something interesting written here. We are enjoying our new place and the kids are doing really well. They both love their new primary and nursery classes. That was one of my concerns, so I'm glad that has worked out so well. We are still unemployed and are thankful for a little thing called student loans. There are almost no job openings in this area. Probably a lot more lay-offs happening here than hirings, so we are looking forward to our tax return, too. Shaun is enjoying school and is doing well. I am just loving the weather here and looking forward to February 22 when I FINALLY get to see Celine Dion. I hope I will be able to catch up and share pictures soon, but here's a quick update just so you know we're still alive.

Mouse Perfume

2008-12-18T00:22:00.005-07:00

Here's a tip for those that attempt to capture mice: If you're going to set multiple mouse traps in your house make sure you remember where you put them. About a week ago I noticed a foul smell coming from the laundry room. My first thought was 'I got him', so I looked in all the places I remember putting a trap. Nothing. I left it alone for a couple days thinking maybe it was smelly laundry, but when I came back the stench was worse. I looked around again then wondered if the mouse had died in the air duct and the heater was blowing the smell around. As I was cleaning out the laundry room tonight I finally moved a table that was standing upright and there lay the trap with not one but two peaceful mouse corpses. May they now rest in peace.........in the dumpster. If the transportation of the mice from my home to the dumpster made me gag, I can't imagine what Emily's reaction would have been. BARF?
Shaun

'Tis The Season...

2008-12-05T10:14:00.001-07:00

...to be silly. I did this mostly for Ethan's entertainment. He thinks it's hilarious. Enjoy!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Fall Fun

2008-12-04T10:44:00.004-07:00

I have been so busy and on a blogging hiatus, so this is another catch-up post. I don't really remember much about the past month or so except for Thanksgiving week (which was fun and stressful). I haven't been taking many pictures either, but I have a few.

My boys rented Wall-E a couple of weeks ago and had a movie night complete with popcorn. I thought they looked pretty cute getting ready for the movie to start. And I think I earned a worst mom award: I'm pretty sure that Spencer (with my permission) ate more popcorn than Shaun and Ethan did combined. He loves it!

Ethan did his first painting this week. I know he's a little old to have never painted before, but I never really thought about it before now. He loved it and I think he did a pretty good job.

I did the "Ethan" and the heart. He did the rest.

Spencer's latest love (besides climbing on the table) is wearing Mommy's shoes.

He didn't want Daddy to think his shoes weren't worth trying on, so he tried them, too. He couldn't really walk in them, though, so he still prefers mine.

We found a place to live down south, and we will probably be moving the weekend before Christmas. I am trying to get motivated to pack, but I'm worried about finding mice in boxes and growing piles, so I've been putting it off in hopes that Shaun will help me do some of the dirty work this weekend. I think Shaun is excited to start school, and I'm really excited to live closer to family and to have a third bedroom.

Mac Mom

2008-11-28T20:39:00.004-07:00

I need to take a moment to welcome my mom to the Apple community! Way to go mom. You make a son proud!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-19T12:58:00.002-07:00

Seriously?

2008-11-14T14:27:00.002-07:00

At about midnight last night I got home from a night out with my friend. I had been listening to a CD while I was driving, and I wanted to finish the song that was playing before I got out of my car. I turned my car's engine and headlights off and sat listening to my music. Two police officers came walking into the parking lot to their separate cars. One of the men got in his car and drove away immediately. The other (who was backed in a few spots down with a truck between his and my car) stood by the back of his car facing toward mine. He looked around with an "I hope no one sees me" look on his face, then stood pretty still. I thought for a second Why is this guy trying to hide? It's not like people can't see him. Then, after watching him for about a minute, my brain turned on. This cop was peeing in my parking lot! He apparently had no idea that I was watching him. I could have sworn he could see me, but I guess not. It was hilarious (and gross)! Thankfully, I could only see him from the waist up.
When I told Shaun about it, he thought I should have gotten out of the car and told him "We can do this one of two ways: I can call your supervisor now, or you can give me $100 cash." I totally wish I'd have thought of that. :) At the very least I should have quickly exited my car and given him an innocent "hello", just to let him know he wasn't alone.

Crazy!

2008-11-12T11:22:00.003-07:00

I have had some somewhat unexpected and crazy things happen in my life the past couple of weeks. I have felt like I haven't had much time to blog, but now I think I have plenty to talk about.

Last Wednesday Shaun's twin sister, Sarah, had her precious son Myles 11 weeks early. Myles was blessed with a strong set of lungs and is doing really well. They hope he will be out of the hospital by Christmas. That's a kind of a crazy thought since he wasn't even expected to be born until January. We are so excited to meet Myles and are very grateful that he and Sarah are both doing great.

Yesterday my stupendous dad went in for surgery to remove a growth on his Thyroid. Before going in they had determined that there was about (I think) a 30% chance that it was cancer. When they got in there they discovered that the tumor was actually a very aggressive (and stuck to everything) cancerous tumor. They ended up removing his entire thyroid. Going into the surgery my dad's greatest fear was having his vocal chords injured. Thankfully, they weren't, and he is doing pretty well today. He is in pain, but I think he's recovering as well as expected. They will do an MRI to make sure that the cancer didn't spread to other organs. He is also going to be given RAI (Radioactive Iodine) therapy. Usually a combination of surgery and RAI wipes out the cancer completely, so the prognosis is very good. I am so thankful that Dad is going to be ok, and that his tie won't bother him anymore. We love you, Dad!
As I was searching for the best description for RAI, I found this site. I think it's kind of cool that my dad will be "Radioactive Man" for a few days. Look out, mom!

Here is Dad practicing one of his great talents; cooking.

I saw a mouse in my house this morning (three times), and I am not happy about it. This isn't really something that is crazy, just something that is making me crazy!

I'm Frozen!

2008-11-05T14:38:00.009-07:00

I can't take this cold weather! It is snowing today, and I am so not ready for winter. I'm never ready. I really need to live somewhere that has 75-80 degree weather all year long. Shaun doesn't understand why it bothers me since I don't spend much time outside, but I'm inside right now with the furnace set to 74 degrees and I'm FREEZING. I am planning a trip south to help my sister-in-law who is in the hospital next week and I can't wait. I think even if she ends up not needing me, I'll go just to escape the cold.

On another note; history was made yesterday. I am going to mention it for the sake of journaling. I have never been too interested in politics, but this year I have paid a little bit more attention to what the Presidential candidates were all about. Although Obama was not my pick (actually neither of the candidates really were), I was not at all surprised by the outcome. Since I didn't have many strong feelings about which candidate would be better for our country, I am now just pleased to know how far our country has come since 1965 when ALL blacks were finally given the right to vote. I like the show "24", and I absolutely loved the President Palmer character. The fact that he was a black man in the White House actually didn't surprise me much, so I don't fully understand why so many people thought that the possibility of us having a black President was far-fetched, but I do realize that yesterday was a HUGE day for the history books. It will be interesting to see how much "change" will actually take place in the next four years.

Carving The Pumpkin

2008-10-31T06:00:00.003-06:00

Happy Halloween! A couple of weeks ago we carved our Jack-O-Lantern. I have always loved carving pumpkins, but the older I get, the less I enjoy getting my hands dirty. Shaun did most of the work this time.

Spencer was excited!

And Ethan was too, but this is one of I think two times he stuck his hand in the pumpkin. He doesn't love getting his hands dirty either. He spent most of the time "mixing" the seeds that were on the table with a spoon.

Spencer enjoyed playing with...

and tasting the leftover pumpkin. (And, yes, he does wear that shirt a lot.)

And here's the final product. Ethan designed the eyes. I designed the nose. Shaun designed the mouth and tweaked my nose design (it was supposed to be an oval). Isn't he cute?

Lately

2008-10-30T13:34:00.006-06:00

I have gotten behind on by blogging so I am playing catch up today. Here are some pictures of what's been happening in our house lately.
Ethan tried to take Spencer's shirt off again. He didn't seem to mind...

But Daddy didn't like that Ethan was undressing Spencer, so he showed Ethan how it felt. He wasn't so happy with that.

The weather is cooling so it is finally time for Spencer to strut the Carhartt's that he got for his birthday. I think he looks pretty cute in them, but I need to find a shirt that matches better.

Shaun bought some Pop Rocks a while ago and shared them with the boys. I know this is way too many pictures of boys eating Pop Rocks, but they turned out so well.
As you can see, Ethan was pretty excited to try them.

Here's Spencer's first go at them. I love how happy Ethan is to watch him.

I think it's hilarious that Ethan is opening his mouth here while Spencer is being fed. Why do people do that (like while feeding a baby)?

The Pop Rocks were definitely enjoyed...

Even by Daddy.

Edit: Oh, yeah. Ethan's favorite word to yell out at random (even in public) since he started potty training last week is the name of a part of the male anatomy. And it's not Adam's apple!

St. George/Mesquite Trip

2008-10-30T11:58:00.003-06:00

We spent October 3-12 in St. George and Mesquite to visit with family. Grandpa and Krista were visiting from Canada and it was fun to see them. We even surprised them and went down a week before we told them we were going to. We were so busy having fun that we forgot to take very many pictures, so there aren't many to share.
One of the reasons we went to St. George was to see Aunt Kayla run in the marathon. She did great and looked much better than I would have after running just 1 mile. Here she is with Grandpa after the race.

And here are Spencer, Krista, and Grandpa after the race.

Ethan and Addie were inseparable. They really love playing together. Here they are holding hands while riding on their Daddy's shoulders. It was pretty cute.

One day we spent some time playing in the park with Journey and Addison. Spencer was a very brave climber. He went all the way to the top of the playground.

After some convincing and examples from his cousins Ethan finally decided to go down the slide all by himself. It was hard to get him to stop once he started.

These are just random pictures I liked from the park.

The ice cream truck came by while we were there. Yum!

We also spent some time at the pool and made our first bowling trip as a family. I actually got second place under Krista, so the girls totally dominated! We had a great time on our trip. We love hanging out with family and the weather was so nice down south.

Tales Of The Potty

2008-10-26T14:56:00.002-06:00

Note: This post is mostly for me. If you don't want to know almost every detail of Ethan's first few days of potty training, I suggest you stop reading now.
It looks like we are truly potty training now. This has been a long time coming. Not only because Ethan is almost 3 1/2 years old, but also because we started talking about the potty with him almost a year and a half ago. He has shown some interest before now, but he has only gone pee in the potty once before this week, and it was sort of an accident then. Since Wednesday (when he first decided to wear underwear) he has only worn a diaper twice. The first time was Wednesday night because I was afraid to let him sleep without one. The second time was Friday evening because he was refusing to go potty after holding it all day and he wanted a diaper. We had to go to the grocery store so I gave in. That night, though, he went potty twice before bed and asked to sleep in underwear. He stayed dry ALL NIGHT! On Saturday he went potty in the morning then held it all in (except a few drop here and there) for almost 10 hours until he finally went potty at about 7:00 pm. He wet his bed last night, but he is getting more and more used to going on the potty. I still have to coax him most of the time. Sometimes he sits and sits and doesn't go and other times it happens pretty quickly (like after holding it for 10 hours). Pooping on the potty will be a whole new fight, but at least we are getting somewhere. I have been giving him Hot Wheels cars (that I got for this purpose at Christmas time last year for really cheap) every time he goes, and I only have one left. I hope he doesn't lose all motivation after we run out!

Spelling

2008-10-22T14:03:00.004-06:00

This morning Ethan and I were lying in my bed and I asked him to spell a word for me. He didn't want to. Instead, he decided to turn the tables on me. He asked me to spell words for him to repeat. This is how it went:

Ethan: Spell door.

Me: D

E: D

M: O

E: O...

and so on.

After Ethan searched around the room for several things to spell, he turned to names. The first name was Spencer.

E: Spell "Usher" (Spencer)

M: Ok, S

E: S

M: P

E: P

M: E

E: No, Mommy, U!

M: Oh, you want to spell Usher?

E: Yeah, Usher.

I guess if you can't say a name correctly there's no reason to spell it correctly either.

Oh, and by the way. He's wearing underwear right now because he wanted to (to get a car). Yay! He has also sat on the potty twice today. No pee in the potty yet, but I now have some hope.

Show And Tell

2008-10-18T17:05:00.002-06:00

I have been thinking lately about all the things I like about my computer time. I figured there might be some of you out there that are new to the blogging world or that just don't take the time to search for the great things of the World Wide Web, so I am going to share some of my favorite things on the internet. Check them out if you want to, or don't.

Google Reader - A site where you can put all of the blogs that you read (except the private ones) in one place. This is how I keep on top of the 50+ (is that too many?) blogs that I follow.

Kids-In-Mind - A site to check out all of the questionable content that is in most of the movies you want to watch. This is meant to help parents decide whether to let their kids watch a movie, but I mostly use it for myself. It is especially useful for those PG-13 movies you just aren't sure about.

My family's blogs - You can check some of those out using the links on my sidebar.

Diapers and Divinity Blog - This is one that's on my sidebar, but I have to mention it separately. My cousin is the author of this blog and I love it. It is great for any mother who could use a little bit of humor and a lot of inspiration.

Cake Wrecks - This is an extremely popular site that showcases really bad professional cakes. It's good for a giggle or a shake of the head.

Initially Speaking - Actually, this isn't one you'd want to read every day, but it's a new business that my sister started and you should all check it out at least once. She does a great job! The site is still under construction, so pardon her dust. :)

Surf The Channel - My friend told me about this one recently and I love it. It has tons of TV shows on it that you can watch whenever you want. It's like having On Demand or TiVo for free! My favorite things about it are that I can watch cable shows that I don't get and I can watch past episodes (or seasons) of shows that I missed. Of course the quality's not great, but for me it's better than nothing.

I realize a lot of you probably already know about most of these, but I thought I'd share the love just in case.

Ideas Please...And Hurry!

2008-10-16T13:00:00.002-06:00

I am not a big Halloween person. I am not very creative when it comes to costumes and I don't really like the idea of going out in the cold and asking strangers for candy. Nevertheless, I must participate for the sake of the children. I cannot, for the life of me, think of a good costume for Ethan (I have Ethan's costume from two years ago for Spencer, although I'm not sure if it fits him). I took him to the store last night to look for a costume, but because of his lack of understanding of the holiday, he didn't want to make a purchase. He didn't even want to be Thomas, which was going to be my fallback since I was sure he wouldn't mind being a train even though I thought the costume was ugly. Actually, he would have allowed me to buy a Tinkerbell costume because it looked like a butterfly and Princess P was a butterfly on the Halloween episode of Super Why the other day. I don't think I want him to be a butterfly. If anybody has any ideas, I would appreciate them. I think even if Ethan likes a costume it might be hard to get him to wear it, so masks are out of the question. If it's something I need to make it must be super easy. If you have an idea that involves Ethan and Spencer that would be fine too since I don't really care if Spencer wears the costume that might not even fit him anyway. Please make a suggestion if you read this, anything is better than what my mind could think up.

An Expert

2008-10-13T13:46:00.003-06:00

With all of the time I have spent on vacation (and with my family while they've been on vacation) lately, it has been hard to stay on any sort of schedule. With this lack of schedule comes a lack of meal planning (not to mention sleep!). Also, for some reason, I tend to eat more junk food while family is around and, of course, we eat out a lot more often. While I had family visiting from out of state a few months ago I gained 5 pounds. I was disappointed, but lost it soon after I returned to my regular eating habits. It also took me about 3 weeks to gain the 5 pounds, so that wasn't too bad. This last week, though, while spending time with Shaun's family and my parents I gained SEVEN pounds. In one week! I guess this proves that I need to exercise more (although I didn't really need any further proof). I have been wanting to lose a few pounds and this definitely doesn't help. I have decided that I am an expert in the art of gaining large amounts of body weight in short amounts of time. I hereby offer my services for a small fee to anyone who would like to know the secret to gaining 7 pounds in one week. I could probably even make you gain more, actually. Do I have any takers?... Anyone?... No? Oh, well. I guess I'm not the first to figure out how to do it. Maybe I could get some celebrities that have to play a "fat" person in their next movie to hire me. I wonder how much they would pay me?

A Thankless Job?

2008-10-03T11:07:00.003-06:00

Overheard at our house yesterday:

Ethan: What are you doing, Mommy?

Me: Just doing the dishes.

E: Thank you, Mommy.

M: For what?

E: For helping clean up.

And then today, about an hour after I gave the boys haircuts and baths and while Ethan was playing on the computer:

E: Thank you...Mommy, thank you!

M: For what?

E: A haircut.

It is so wonderful to have my son thank me for doing something that is "my job" without me telling him to. I hope this is the beginning of many thank you's to come. It is nice that I can now say with certainty that mine is not a thankless job!

Fun Stuff

2008-09-30T14:27:00.003-06:00

I have been feeling lately like I've had nothing to blog about. Then I was looking at pictures today and decided I had a few to share.
I love my dad's recipe for pancakes so I make them often. Probably way more often than my family would like, but at least they eat them. Lately Ethan has enjoyed helping me make everything. Especially pancakes. Here he is mixing the batter for me.

I couldn't resist taking this picture of the kids watching Daddy drive off on the scooter. Isn't it cute (if you ignore the saggy diaper)? I love that you can tell by Spencer's tense legs how excited he is.

This is what Spencer's hair looked like when he woke up the other day.

Ethan has always been the only kid at birthday parties that eats the cake, but NOT the frosting. In fact, a lot of the time (like at his own party) he won't even eat the cake. The other day we had some friends over for dinner and cake. I made some chocolate frosting and Ethan had his first experience licking the beater. He loved it. Then, when it was time to eat the cake, guess who ate his frosting first!

I saved the best for last. This is what I saw this morning when I went to get Spencer out of his bed.

Just in case you're not sure what it is, here's another view.

I asked Ethan if he pulled Spencer's shirt down, and he told me that he was trying to take it off for him because it was dirty. While I was taking these pictures he explained to me that he had to "pull hard" to get his shirt to do this. Silly boy.

Timp What?

2008-09-25T14:33:00.005-06:00

**Disclaimer: Shaun told me to blog about this. I am not mean.**
Shaun was hired by the coach of a 6th grade football team to video all of their games. He started a few weeks ago, and things have been fine. Until last night. Shaun checked the team's schedule earlier this week and saw that they were playing at Timpview High School. He looked up the address on the internet. I think he also double-checked the schedule before he left last night to make sure he was going to the right place. When he got to the game (which started at 8:30) he called me and asked me to check the schedule to make sure he was in the right place. He said there was a team there that had the same name (T-Wolves) and color (red) as the team he was filming, but these kids were bigger and the coaches were different. I said, "Yeah, they're playing at Timpview tonight at 8:30. Are you sure it's not the right team? If you're at Timpview, you've got to be in the right place." He said he was at Timpview, but this just wasn't the right team. We continued discussing what he should do. Finally I decided to call the coach, hoping he would answer even though he was in the middle of the game. I didn't get a hold of him at first, but he answered his phone at about 9:oo, just as a defeated Shaun was about to head home. I asked the coach where he was and what color his opposing team was wearing. He said they were at Timpview High School and the other team was wearing green (the teams Shaun had seen were wearing red and blue). I called Shaun back and said "Where are you? Mike says they're at Timpview. That can't be where you are." He looked at a sign at the school which read Timpanogos High School. He was about 15 minutes from where he should be. I asked him how he found the address to the school. He said he searched for "Timp High School", and Timpanogos High School was first on the list. I guess he didn't realize that there are about 50 schools (slight exaggeration) in the area that are named after Mt. Timpanogos in one way or another. He finally arrived at the right school about half-way through the third quarter of the game. The T-Wolves won, so hopefully the coach was pleased enough with his team to forgive Shaun's tardiness.
**As a humorous side-note Timpanogos High School's mascot is the Timberwolf.

My Eyes

2008-09-18T14:56:00.002-06:00

Ashlie asked me how my eyes are, so I guess since I haven't said anything about them in a while I will give an update on that situation. I think the vision in my left eye is where it should be, but my right eye is definitely still cloudy. Sometimes it is worse than others. For some reason it seems to be worse in the morning. The other day I actually rubbed my eyes and they were both cloudy for a few seconds, but I don't know if that had anything to do with this condition. Last time I talked about this I said that I was supposed to see the doctor again this month, but because I am used to it, I can see ok, and I lack insurance and money, I'm putting that off. I do wonder what he would say, though. I have been tempted to go back to wearing contacts. I have also thought about using the leftover steroid drops I have to see what happens, but I'm too paranoid. I still am unsure who to believe in all of this, and I wish I could get a third opinion. Oh well, I guess I will just keep doing what I'm doing as long as it doesn't get worse again.

Ouch!

2008-09-15T14:59:00.004-06:00

On Saturday Spencer fell and hit his head on a corner of my desk. He didn't cry for very long, so Shaun and I didn't notice his big owie at first. When we saw it, we were surprised he wasn't freaking out for a long time. I think it looked worse in real life than it does in the pictures, and I think we were lucky it didn't break the skin and require stitches.

I figured he'd get a bad headache and came to the rescue with some Tylenol. You can sort of see the big goose egg in this photo.

He was in surprisingly good spirits.

It's a good thing he's still dang cute!

The Last Hurrah

2008-09-11T12:57:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago Shaun and Ethan made their last trip to our community pool before it closed for the season. Ethan really liked the pool this year and, although he is still no Michael Phelps, he made a lot of progress. Here are some of the things he learned this year.

Going under water voluntarily while plugging his nose.

Jumping in! He loved that (thanks to Aunt Jenn).

Blowing bubbles. He was so cute doing this. He always made noise when he did it and the longer he went, the louder he got.

Here he is holding on to Shaun's arm. He felt so big being in the water without Daddy holding him.

I am hoping that next year he will learn to swim a little bit and that he'll be on his own in the pool with water wings. I also hope that Spencer will like the pool next year!

Good job being so brave and learning to swim, Ethan! And thanks for helping him, Daddy!

Some Pictures

2008-09-09T10:08:00.004-06:00

Since I am still behind on posting and I haven't posted many pictures recently, I have some pictures to share of my silly kids.
These first two are of Spencer playing in the kitchen cupboards. I know all kids love getting into things, but I believe he could be the worst when it comes to choosing household items over toys. He hardly ever plays with toys. If I set him in a pile of toys, it takes about 5 seconds for him to get to the kitchen and start playing in the drawers and cupboards (and now the dishwasher!!).

This was very cute. He was "sharing" my music with me. Most of the time he was listening with a very intense look on his face and other times he was dancing. And now he knows where his ears are because I think I told him about 50 times "only in your ears" when he tried to put the ear bud in his mouth.

These four are of a "game" Spencer was playing a few nights ago while Aunt Christine and Uncle Nathan were watching the boys. Silly kid!

Ethan found some ants in our house and decided to hold a couple of them. I was shocked when he walked over to show me. He has always liked to talk to and "play" with ants, but he is so terrified of most other bugs (flies mostly) that I never imagined he would actually touch an ant. He thought it was pretty cool. He tried to get me to hold one, but I wouldn't.

This was this morning. Spencer spent about 30 minutes playing in this toy bin. He was entertaining himself so nicely that I didn't bother to take him out. He has gotten used to sitting in it lately since Daddy made a "train" out of the two bins and pulled the kids around. He even took them outside! It all happened while I was sleeping in a few mornings ago. Crazy Daddy! Luckily the bins held up pretty well to the abuse.

This is what my crazy, cute boys have been up to lately. Except I don't have any pictures that show Spencer walking. He is walking really well now. It's very cute. I'll see if I can figure out how to put some video of him on here soon.

Ethan's Turn

2008-09-04T07:51:00.002-06:00

I think I got less than one hour of sleep last night. Partly because I went to bed way too late, but mostly because Ethan was throwing up most of the night. It is now almost 8:00 and he has thrown up 8 times since about (I think) 2:30 this morning. I would not be surprised if there is much more to come. It is so weird. He acts totally fine between each throw up session. I hope he gets over it as quickly as Spencer did. Spencer only threw up 4 times though, so we'll see. I also hope that Shaun and I don't get whatever they got. It seems to come on so abruptly that I'm afraid one of us will suddenly start throwing up when we're at work. Wouldn't that be fun! I'm crossing my fingers for a long nap today.

"Look What Ethan Find!"

2008-09-03T13:24:00.002-06:00

Last night, about 45 minutes after putting the kids to bed, Ethan came to his doorway (for about the 15th time) and said, "Mommy, look what Ethan find." I said, "What?", hoping that he would just tell me rather than make me get up and look. He repeated, "Mommy, look what Ethan find!" I decided to get up and look. I walked to his room and there he was holding up a small rock to show me. I thought to myself "That's weird, why is there a rock in his room?" I told him to go back to his bed, and reached for the rock. Just as my fingers touched it I realized this wasn't a pebble from the Earth, but, rather, a pebble of poop. My son had dug this precious stone out of his diaper and was so excited about it that he couldn't wait to show me. Then, not wanting to be greedy, he let me hold it. I asked him if he "found" this treasure in his diaper and he told me he had and that he needed a new diaper. In my three years of motherhood, this is the first time I have thought it was really funny that I was touching poop, but I do hope that digging for treasure in his diaper doesn't become a new habit of Ethan's.

My Hypochondriacal Day

2008-09-02T15:15:00.003-06:00

Spencer threw up four times during the night last night. He seems fine so far today, and he has had no other symptoms. I, of course, checked it out on WebMD. I guess he's all right, but I still am a little bit worried about him. I've been working on getting him rehydrated today.
Also today, I have been thinking about the fact that my eyes have had moments of weirdness the past few days. They, every once in a while, come unfocused and move (jerk). I have been somewhat worried that I had something else wrong with my eyes, but I've been trying to ignore it. Since I was having particular trouble with it this morning and WebMD was fresh on my mind, I decided to check it out. There was really only one possible condition that had a symptom of jerking eye movements other than intoxication (and I'm pretty sure I'm not intoxicated). The other main symptom of this condition is...vertigo. So, I think that I've determined that the cause of my vertigo is Labyrinthitis (cool name, eh?). Although there is no cure for this condition and it will still take about a month (or longer) to go away, it's interesting to know. I just thought I'd share the happenings of my hypochondriacal (yes, it's a real word) day with you.

Payback Time!

2008-09-02T11:46:00.001-06:00

Spencer's First Haircut

2008-09-01T13:29:00.006-06:00

Spencer got his first (very needed) haircut on August 15. Anyone who actually knows how to cut hair will be able to tell by the pictures that I had NO idea what I was doing. This was a lot harder than the usual buzz I give to Shaun and Ethan. It turned out ok, though, and now his hair isn't way too long. I took A LOT of pictures because I wanted to make sure this was properly documented. I don't have any pictures of Ethan's first haircut, and I was determined not to make that mistake again!
Here are some before shots. He was really showing his hair off to the camera.

This is the first during picture. Shaun really captured his initial fear in this one.

He absolutely HATED the clippers. Most noisy things really make him nervous, and this noisy thing was touching him.

Even after I switched to scissors, he was not a happy camper.

But, in true Spencer fashion, he was easily calmed with a little snack.

This is the back after being cut. I think this makes him look really grown up.

And this is the only after picture that doesn't show every cut I made with the scissors. :) Doesn't he look handsome?

Ethan decided that his bear needed a haircut, too. He did the honors with his pliers.

I think he (or she; I'm not sure what it is. Ethan goes back and forth on that.) looks pretty handsome, too.

The County Fair, 2008

2008-08-29T16:48:00.004-06:00

On August 16, we went to our local County Fair. We thought the kids might enjoy themselves, but we were all pretty disappointed by it. There were very few animals to see and there were no activities that small children might enjoy, but there was one thing there that was worth the free admission to see. We all were very impressed with the Lego display that was there. I took a lot of pictures so that Ethan could look at it again and again, so I'm sharing quite a few.

The trains were obviously Ethan's favorite part.

This is how amazed he was by the whole thing.

We all got to sit on a big tractor. Ethan didn't like it so much, but Spencer thought it was pretty cool.

That was pretty much it. Yes, we looked at some livestock, but the kids didn't really care too much about it. At least we got to spend time together; that's what really counts.

Here We Go

2008-08-28T19:23:00.002-06:00

I got my computer with all my pictures on it back, so I will be playing catch up on the next few posts. I decided this time I should post as I would have instead of cramming all of the info into one post. I don't know how long it will take for me to do this, but at least now you know you have something to look forward to. ;)

Darn You, #81!

2008-08-25T12:09:00.002-06:00

Well, it happened. I jinxed myself. Now I do remember the last time I threw up. Last Friday afternoon I started feeling dizzy and was later diagnosed with Vertigo. That stuff is not fun! (I still have a weird headache and feel like I'm constantly on the verge of extreme dizziness.) About half an hour into my dizziness I stood up from the couch to take some headache medicine and could not walk straight and felt very nauseous. I took some Aleve and about 5 seconds later it came back up. Oh, well. At least now I know that I can survive throwing up.
There are a lot of other things I've been wanting to blog about, but all of the pictures that I took to remind me of those stories are on our other computer. (That's a long story I won't bore you with.) Hopefully soon I will be able to blog as much as I'd like to.

100th Post-100 Things About Emily

2008-08-15T14:41:00.011-06:00

I decided to list 100 things about me for my 100th post. It wasn't easy to think of 100 things. Some things you all probably already know and some things I may regret sharing later :). Here's to another 100 posts!

1. I love Celine Dion, and I have tickets for her concert this November. I'm so excited!

2. I love the T.V. show Friends. I own the series on DVD.

3. Three of my very favorite movies (in no particular order) are Grease, Dirty Dancing, and The Shawshank Redemption.

4. I secretly wish I were a good dancer and I really want to take ballroom dance lessons.

5. I am a very curious person and this sometimes leads to my being nosy.

6. I am addicted to ice cream, but unlike most ice cream addicts, I don't like many different flavors. I prefer the classics.

7. I am extremely shy. I sweat profusely and can feel myself turning red any time I initiate any kind of conversation with a stranger. I hate being the center of attention.

8. I am the fifth of six children.

9. I lived in seven different houses from birth to age 18.

10. I have always been a good speller. I used to do very well in spelling bees, and that was sometimes embarrassing. (See #7)

11. I have a pretty good long-term memory, but my short-term memory really stinks. Maybe I'll remember to put Shaun's clothes in the dryer in 10 years!

12. I love reality T.V. I think it feeds my curiosity nicely. (See #5)

13. My biggest dream growing up was to become a mommy, and I feel so blessed to have been able to do that.

14. I love the internet. I'm not sure how we ever lived without it, although I do wish it didn't consume so much of my time.

15. I'm a planner. I'm not very spontaneous.

16. I don't believe in love at first sight, but I definitely started falling in love with Shaun the first time I met him.

17. I have owned 6 cars (and now 1 scooter) since I was 18, and I drove 5 cars owned by my parents while in high school. I inherited the habit of trading in cars from my dad.

18. I have always been a very paranoid person and my paranoia has increased since becoming a mother.

19. I love my family. Family is very important to me.

20. I want to be a contestant on Wheel Of Fortune. I think I could win :).

21. I rarely get enough sleep, and it's all my fault.

22. I have a weird thing against odd numbers. I don’t particularly like them. I got this from my mom. I wonder if she inherited it from one of her parents.

23. I have moved eight times (lived in 9 places) since I got married 4 1/2 years ago. Too many times!

24. I have never been issued a traffic ticket.

25. I get carsick pretty easily, and there are only a few people whose driving doesn't make me very nervous.

26. I get very angry when I see children improperly (or not at all) restrained in a car, especially when their parents are wearing seat belts. (Why is your safety more important than your child's?!)

27. I'm somewhat of a hoarder. It's hard for me to get rid of anything that reminds me of anything or that I think I might use some day.

28. I like breakfast for dinner now that I'm the one making dinner, but growing up I got sick of it.

29. I think my dad is a great cook. He can always make things just the way I like them, and that's not an easy task.

30. I love my parents, and I admire their relationship.

31. I love my siblings, and my sisters are the best friends in the world (not just to me).

32. I am grateful that I know the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

33. I used to absolutely love horror movies, but now they scare me way too much.

34. I hate funerals.

35. I'm kind of a crybaby. (Hence #34)

36. I HATE cartoons made for adults (The Simpson’s, King of the Hill, etc.). Seriously, what's the point?

37. I still like the movie Cars, even though I've seen it (or at least parts of it) probably over 100 times. (Yes, I'm serious. I've seen it way more times than I've seen any of my favorite movies.)

38. I wish I knew a deaf person (or at least someone who I could sign with all of the time) so that I could become fluent in ASL through experience.

39. I am 5’ 7.5” tall.

40. I'd like to be more musical. I used to be very inspired by music, but I don't even listen to it much anymore.

41. I have obsessive-compulsive tendencies that I've passed on to Ethan, but I'm definitely NOT a clean freak.

42. I would like to be a better housekeeper, but I'd like to have a maid even more.

43. I am probably the pickiest eater you will ever know.

44. I really love my kids' laughter.

45. Surprisingly, I love talking, just not to strangers.

46. I've realized that I love baking, but I'd do more if I didn't have to clean up afterwards. (See #42)

47. I still have all of the letters and tapes that Shaun sent to me while on his mission. (See #27)

48. I'd love to go to Italy someday.

49. I am so happy that my husband makes such great family videos.

50. I have an intense fear of falling. The third rung on a ladder is enough to make me sweat. Some have accused me of being afraid of heights, but as long as I don’t think I might fall, any height is fine with me.

51. I’d like to go to Australia.

52. I’d like to travel to Hawaii.

53. Someday, I’d like to go back to Georgia and Canada with Shaun.

54. I am very proud of my kids.

55. I would like to have a girl one day.

56. I wish there were more hours in a day.

57. I love my nieces and nephews and I’m proud of them, too.

58. My favorite color is blue.

59. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people say “never mind”. I can’t stand not knowing what they were going to say or why they decided not to say it.

60. When I was young, I had a crush on the same boy for over 10 years, even though I didn’t live near him for most of that time.

61. I strongly dislike laundry.

62. I wonder why boys (like mine) always get the great eyelashes.

63. I like going to furniture stores, just to look and dream.

64. I have learned that my body doesn’t handle stress well.

65. I really appreciate a good sense of humor.

66. My favorite animal is the elephant.

67. I have dry skin.

68. I have poop-colored hair, and I have proof. (Ethan pointed to my hair the other day and said, “Kinda like poopy.”)

69. I REALLY want Lasik surgery. I miss my contacts, but I’m also glad that I don’t have to worry about them. It would be a lot easier if I could just see clearly when I woke up every morning.

70. I haven’t clearly seen the true size of anything since mid-May. (My glasses make everything look smaller.)

71. I tend to be somewhat of a hypochondriac.

72. I am sensitive to some metals and have worn the same earrings almost everyday since high school because they are white gold and don’t irritate my ears.

73. I love cheek and head kisses from Ethan.

74. I love ANY kisses from my kids.

75. I hate wet kisses (unless they’re from my kids).

76. I hope I will climb the Red Mountain (in Ivins) someday.

77. I don’t really like change.

78. I love to laugh.

79. I don’t like rainy days.

80. Thunder and lightning scare me.

81. I don’t remember the last time I threw up. (And I hope this doesn’t jinx me.)

82. I like photography.

83. I sometimes think I’d like to learn enough about photography to do it professionally.

84. I don’t iron. A spray bottle full of water is good enough for me.

85. I feel (and have felt) like an outcast a lot.

86. I think paper towels are one of the greatest inventions ever.

87. I have never had a broken bone. But I almost broke my nose once.

88. I work at Wal-Mart.

89. I love maple bars, especially from Albertson’s.

90. My favorite number is 8.

91. I was born in 1983.

92. Spring is my favorite season (and we totally didn’t have spring here this year!).

93. I once stabbed myself in the hand with a pocketknife and had to get stitches.

94. Now part of my thumb is permanently numb.

95. I used to play the flute. I’d like to pick one up again sometime.

96. I want to own a piano. (This is my official dibs on Mom & Dad’s.)

97. I would love to see a Broadway Play someday.

98. Fashion is very interesting to me.

99. I love that I have found friends from my past through blogging, but sometimes I feel like a major stalker.

100. I love nap time.

Dumpster Diving, Trains, and More

2008-08-13T13:07:00.005-06:00

I feel like I've gotten way behind on blogging, so this will be a long post of many stories.

While everyone was here for the Family Reunion, we decided to take some family pictures. We took them with my brothers camera (which is nice) and Shaun and I played photographers. I just thought I'd share the silly photo we did, because I thought it turned out pretty cute. It also happens to be the only picture taken that Spencer looked at the camera. Stinker!

Our family.

Okay, now the stories start.

After unpacking the van from our camping trip with Shaun's family Shaun couldn't find the plastic bag that he had put his and Ethan's clothes in. Nobody, including Shaun, could remember carrying it into the house. They could, however, remember throwing bags of trash into the dumpster. So it was determined that Shaun's bag of clothes had been mistaken for a bag of trash. Shaun went to check the dumpster, and there it was. But, he couldn't reach it.

So he enlisted his niece, Journey, to assist him in his dumpster dive.

And the rescue was a success.

And, speaking of dumpsters, we had two dumpsters in our complex set on fire at two different times early this morning. I'm sure the fire department was happy about that.

The other day, Spencer taught himself a new trick. He got up on that chair all by himself.

He looked so big sitting and reading books with Ethan.

I was very proud of him at first, then he learned the even better trick of climbing from the chair onto the table. That's not so great. He also gets very frustrated now when he can't climb onto an adult sized chair. Oh, well. At least we're learning from all of this.

This is a train that Ethan built. He is extremely obsessed with trains lately and was very proud of this train that he made with a bunch of toys. I love that he included his doll's broken leg.

I think it's time for a haircut. What do you think?

Ethan has also been very good at playing Daddy the past few days. He has been putting Spencer in time out and scolding him by using his first and last name. He has also been playing with his bear a lot lately and showing it how to do things and singing songs with it. The bear has been in time out also. My favorite thing he has been doing with the bear was first an idea from Daddy. He feeds his bear because he wants to make it "poop" the food out.

Sound Effects

2008-08-08T08:16:00.002-06:00

I have come to the conclusion that little boys are born with the ability to make sound effects with their mouths. What I don't know is why. I don't really understand what it is about being a boy that gives you the need to sound like a car, but apparently it does. Spencer has already come close to being a master at the car sound and is also pretty good at playing a train. I remember thinking that Ethan was too young to know how when he started doing sound effects, and now I'm surprised at how Spencer seems to innately understand that you can't push a locomotive around without mimicking it's sound. Ethan, after years of practice, is now so good at mimicking trains, cars, airplanes, helicopters, and more that I sometimes wonder if I'm at the airport or train station. While this is a great talent, I am slightly concerned that Ethan knows and can make the sounds of almost everything that has an engine or wheels, but still can't tell me what any animal sounds like. I remember, as a child, being praised for saying "oink" when asked what a pig says, but I don't recall getting any recognition for knowing how to imitate a helicopter. I guess, at least, I should be grateful that my boys came wired for this skill and that I didn't have to teach them. That surely would have made them the laughing stock of their peers.

Wordless Wednesday- Just Chillin'

2008-08-06T06:37:00.000-06:00

Nice Legs

2008-08-05T09:28:00.001-06:00

Spencer got on the printer again yesterday. This time Shaun and I thought to hit copy while he was up there. This is what came out. Pretty cute, I think.

Any Ideas?

2008-07-30T23:31:00.003-06:00

My 100th post is coming up and I would like to do something different for it. Perhaps something I've never done before. Does anyone have a great idea for what I could do? It could be anything. Please get creative. But hurry; only four posts left before the big 100.

Look, Ma. No Hands!

2008-07-30T13:17:00.003-06:00

Lately Spencer has become a big leaner. He leans on everything (and everyone). We think he feels pretty big being able to stand without holding on to anything. He loves having his hands free to play even though he can't stand by himself yet.

Here he's watching 'Signing Time'. A couple of minutes after I took this picture he got tired and decided to sit on the floor instead.

Grease Monkey

2008-07-30T12:36:00.004-06:00

While Ethan was taking his first bike ride last Tuesday, Spencer was having his own fun. Normally, I would have freaked out at the sight of this, but on this particular day, for some reason, I decided to let it slide.

He was loving every second of it and was glad to add to the humor of it by touching his face with his filthy hand.

He thought his black hands were very interesting. He looked at them for a while and gave my sister plenty of time to get some great pics of them.

This trip to the asphalt didn't help his case any.

He was completely filthy and needed a bath right away.

I'm sure that Grandpa was happy to see that this grandson is definitely a car guy and doesn't mind getting his hands dirty.

Splash Pad Fun

2008-07-29T14:50:00.002-06:00

On Ethan's birthday we went with my sister's family to the splash pad in downtown St. George. It was a really perfect day for playing in the water. The boys both really loved it. Spencer enjoyed it more than I thought he would. He loves the bath, but he hates the pool. I thought he would hate this, too. He really liked crawling and cruising around in the little stream.

I didn't get a whole lot of good pictures of that because every time I told him to look at me he shook his head "no". I think maybe it was because it was too bright.

Ethan loved running (although I told him to walk about 300 times) around the splash pad. He was a little bit shocked at first when the water hit his face...

But after he got used to it, he welcomed it.

Here he is putting his hair in the water.

I sat Spencer in the grass while Ethan was playing on the splash pad. You can see how red he is in this picture. He was obviously feeling too hot because right after I took this picture...

He ran (crawled) straight for the middle of the splash pad.

His cousin went to save him so that I wouldn't have to get wet, then I helped him find his very own fountain to play with.

I love this picture of the whole pad and my kids.

Seriously, My Children!

2008-07-28T13:46:00.002-06:00

This is what Spencer decided to do while I was on the phone trying to resolve a problem with the scooter today.

He has always loved playing with our printer, but I never thought he would climb on top of it. I guess it is cause for celebration, though. This is the highest he has climbed to date. What a stinker he is, too!

Got Milk?

2008-07-28T11:11:00.004-06:00

Many of you probably know that Ethan has a pretty intense addiction to milk. This morning at snack time he asked me for some milk. Since he had milk with his breakfast, I told him he could have juice or water. He protested then seemed to get over it quickly. Seconds later, I turned to see what he was up to and this is what I saw.

He has never done this before, so he had a little trouble keeping the milk in his mouth. He got a little bit wet.

I guess the addiction is worse than I thought. Do you think they have a 12-step program for milkaholics? What a stinker!

Sexy Magazine!

2008-07-26T21:16:00.004-06:00

A beautiful mother of two and wife of one was spotted in St. George, Utah over the weekend. "I'm just out for a stroll" she said. This gorgeous 25 year old made "Sexy Magazines" top 10 sexy women of July 2008.

Ethan's Birthday!

2008-07-25T16:12:00.013-06:00

July 22 was Ethan's third birthday. It was a really fun day and I have A LOT of pictures to share once again. They're not all great pictures, but they show how much fun Ethan had on his day. We were at Grandma and Grandpa Dibb's house that day visiting them and my sister and her kids. It was so fun for Ethan to have some of his cousins that don't live near us at his party. And it was great for me to have my sister there to help me make Ethan's cake (thanks!).

Ethan was greeted by a bunch of balloons (Thanks, again, to my sister. My lungs are apparently VERY weak.) outside of his bedroom door when he got up in the morning. He was very excited and played with them most of the day.

Here he's showing me his favorite green ones.

Here he is "making a party". He would line all of the balloons up then crash into them so they would fly everywhere. I'm not sure where he got the idea that that's all it takes to "make a party". It was cute.

After a fun time at the local splash pad (look for pics in a later post) and some shopping time, we went home to prepare for the party. Sarah, Journey, and Addie came, but we were sad that Grandma Richardson had to work. She did get to stop by and say happy birthday, though.

We started the fun with some games. The first was Ring Around the Rosy. The kids obviously enjoyed themselves.

Next was Duck, Duck, Goose.

Ethan didn't really get the object of the game, so he ran during everyone's turn.

The other kids thought it was so funny, and soon everyone was up and running in circles.

After the games we sat down to sing a few songs. My sister caught this cute look on Ethan's face.

She also caught her cute son begging for "jooo" (juice).

After singing Ethan opened his presents. I think he was a little overwhelmed, but he was excited.

Next it was cake time. Ethan had a WordWorld rainbow cake. It turned out almost exactly the way I envisioned it, thanks, once again, to my sister.

It was very "frostingy" (a decided "Dibb word" my sister and I both used to describe it).

After cake it was time to try out all the new toys. Ethan got eight aircraft that he loves.

He also got a bike that he won't use the pedals on, but he still loves it.

Ethan had a very good birthday. Thanks to everyone who helped make it a great day! I still can't believe I have a three year old. My bud is growing up so fast!

Kelly is 21!

2008-07-24T12:05:00.004-06:00

Just wanted to shout out to my little sis. Hope you have a killer day.
Love your brother.

2008-07-22T23:07:00.000-06:00

ETHAN

Daddy Loves You!

Memories

2008-07-18T07:26:00.001-06:00

I saw this on Kate's blog and thought it might be interesting. Here's the deal:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Parties and Messes

2008-07-17T15:44:00.002-06:00

My nephew turned six on Monday and had a family party on Sunday to celebrate. We had yummy cake and ice cream, but the kids' favorite part was playing on the trampoline at his house. Ethan has so much fun with his cousins. I wish we could spend more time with them.

Spencer's hair got really crazy on the trampoline. He had fun, too.

We also took some family pictures at the party. I will hopefully be able to post some soon (if they turn out).

Today I set Spencer down to play. He immediately made his way to the kitchen (his favorite room of the house). Before I turned my back everything was in it's place (for the most part) and closed. When I turned back to see what he was up to a few minutes later, this is what I saw. He was very proud of himself.

Dibb Family Reunion-Heber Valley Camp

2008-07-17T14:12:00.007-06:00

Last weekend the Dibb family had a reunion. The fun all started on Thursday evening when some of us went to the temple. It was great to be there with family. Friday morning some of the family went golfing. That afternoon everyone started heading up to Heber Valley Camp. We didn't go up until after Shaun got off work so we just about missed dinner, but we did get to eat some of what was left of the yummy Hawaiian haystacks.

It was great to be in the mountains with nature. These are just some of the animals we saw.

After dinner some of us played games. While Shaun and I played Pit my niece (whom Spencer adores) entertained Spencer and my wonderful cousins Kelly and Stephanie entertained Ethan and most of the other younger kids. I caught a few glimpses of Ethan and he was having a blast.

I think his favorite part of the whole reunion was this "human train" that he rode. He talked about it a lot and you can tell by the picture that he thoroughly enjoyed himself.

He also liked playing in the dirt.

After games it was time for bed. We slept in a cabin with my sisters and their families. It was cold, but once everyone fell asleep it wasn't too bad.

The next morning I was still cold so I cuddled up with my human furnace who actually felt more like a popsicle then.

While we were cuddling the men of my family were in the kitchen making one of the yummiest breakfasts ever for the whole gang. French toast, hash browns, and bacon that were perfect.

Shortly after breakfast it was time to play on the lake. Shaun, Ethan and I rode on a paddle boat. I got a workout, Shaun got some good shots, and Ethan had fun.

Here Ethan is doing his signature "it's too bright" pose.

He loved splashing in the water.

This is what that water looked like. (GROSS!)

Here one of Ethan's favorite cousins is helping him take his life jacket off.

While we were floating on the lake, Spencer was with Grandma. He took a little nap.

There was plenty of greenery to be seen up in those mountains. I love this picture of Ethan.

After the lake we had another yummy meal. Then it was time for the challenge course. This was fun (even though I watched most of the time). I went on the zip line and, sadly, I have no pictures of that, but Shaun did get video of it. It was a lot of fun, but the climb up to the top was not a walk in the park. I was very nervous and shaking the whole time.

After that it was time to clean up and check out of our cabins. We left the camp and went to a park in Heber City for dinner. More good food and visiting with family.

Shaun made a video of the reunion for everyone, so most of his time was spent behind the camera. This is what everyone else saw every time they looked at him.

The reunion was a lot of fun and it was great to see everyone. Thanks to Donna and Dorothy for planning everything and making it a successful event!

Cool, Dude!

2008-07-05T08:37:00.002-06:00

Ethan tried Shaun's sunglasses on the other day. He thought he looked great.

He really enjoyed modeling them for me.

Here he's giving me thumbs up and saying "cool, dude!"

Spencer wanted to try them on, too.

That night after the kids went to bed, I heard them playing. When I went in their room to tell Ethan to get back in his bed, this is what I saw.

The picture's not great because I was trying to be sneaky. Ethan's new thing is to push Spencer's crib over next to his bed. He then uses his bed to climb in to the crib. Just when I thought I had the crib problems taken care of...

Roberts Reunion

2008-07-05T07:55:00.004-06:00

Last Saturday we went to the Roberts Family reunion. It was fun to see everyone and visit. Ethan's favorite part was playing in the park. He ate part of a roll while we were there; he was too busy playing to eat more than that. Spencer ate everything. I think the food was his favorite part. Grandma and Grandpa Dibb brought a cake for Spencer's birthday.

Shaun had to pry broccoli out of Spencer's mouth so that he could eat some of his cake.

I love this picture.

Ethan got too close to the beast. :)

Here Spencer is going in for a kiss.

I'm not sure what they're doing here. :)

Shaun and the boys left the party early (at about 4:00) The boys were definitely ready to call it a day. Shaun took this pic on the drive home.

I think it's so funny that they're in almost the same position.

Spencer's Birthday Party

2008-07-01T19:07:00.009-06:00

Spencer's first birthday was on Saturday, the 28th. We were at a family reunion on Saturday, so we had a party with my family on Sunday. We took a lot of pictures and since I thought most of them were blog-worthy, I tried to narrow it down, but there are still a lot. Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate! We missed Kiersten and her family and wish Shaun's family could have come, too.

Here are the cakes. Nothing too special.

Shaun and Spencer played a game of peek-a-boo while we were waiting for everyone to get to the park.

Here I think he's very amused by me trying to keep the candle lit.

He started off a little slow...

...then he really dug in.

Here Ethan is admiring Spencer's mess.

Spencer enjoyed getting messy while eating his first birthday cake.

Daddy helped him get a little more messy.

This is how many of us it took to clean him off. :)

He really didn't like that part.

There's that cute bum again.

After the mess was cleaned up, Spencer opened his presents. He got some cool Tonka trains from John and Jenn and boys.

And some cute Carhartt overalls from Nate and Christine.

I love Shaun's reaction to them.

And here Spencer is modeling them.

Here are all of the cars that we had at the party. Do you think we're a Ford family?

Huh?

2008-06-26T09:59:00.002-06:00

My eye drama is not over, folks. I went for my follow-up appointment with my regular eye doctor yesterday. I said before that I was using steroid drops that were helping. Well, they did help to the point where I thought I might be completely healed. Then, the past week or so my vision has declined almost to where it was before any treatment. Dr. Hooton says that he still thinks that it is scarring from a virus and that the specialist was wrong in saying that the contacts caused it. He says, though, that the contacts probably agitate the problem so I still should not wear them until he says it's ok. He thinks the scarring will fade with time and not to use the drops again. He says that might take three to six months and I need to see him again in three months. I don't know who to believe, but I definitely hope that Dr. Hooton is right and that it will go away. I really hope that it won't continue to get worse. I don't really know how that's possible, but I'm no doctor. I am getting tired of wearing glasses, but I guess it's worth it. Hopefully soon I will be able to get some glasses that I like better and are more comfortable. I am really not happy that this isn't over and I don't understand how these doctors can be so sure about their different opinions. Oh, well, I guess I should be happy that I'm not completely blind (yet).

Silly Faces And Toys

2008-06-24T13:56:00.003-06:00

I couldn't resist sharing these cute pictures of Spencer's silly cheeser faces. Every time I get the camera out now, he wants to be the subject. He is such a ham and loves it when I think he's being silly.

This is a picture of the toy pile Ethan made today. He just started piling toys around Spencer and saying "here you go, Spencer." Spencer eventually made his way out of the pile and Ethan jumped in. I was too tired to care, so it ended up being a pile of about 90% of the toys (and books) that we own. I'm sure Ethan and I will enjoy the clean up later.

Super Mommy

2008-06-23T18:47:00.013-06:00

The boys and I wanted to dedicate this blog to mommy. Mommy got a job at Wal Mart a couple weeks ago. She works 4 nights a week from 7 to 11. We just wanted to say thank you for going to work after a long day of keeping up with us boys. We appreciate you and are grateful for your help paying the bills as well. We pray for you every night before we go to sleep. So remember, half way through your shift we're talking about you with the "Man Up Stairs". Lots of loves and hugs from the home front!

Shaun (Dad) Ethan (Ocean) Spencer (Usher)

Some Success

2008-06-20T14:47:00.003-06:00

Ethan went pee in the potty for the first time today. He has had one accident so far today, and I'm sure we'll have many more to come, but I am so happy to finally feel like he CAN do it. Now I am hoping that the rest of what he needs to learn will come easily to him. He got a matchbox car as a reward and when we called Daddy to tell him that he went potty Ethan held the car up to the phone and said, "look, car!" He was so excited. I have been telling him for at least a month that he will get a car when he goes pee in his potty and he finally got one. I am so proud of my little big boy!

75th Post- I Love Blogs

2008-06-19T22:00:00.003-06:00

I really enjoy blogging and reading other people's blogs. I am glad that somebody out there started the ever-growing trend of mommy blogging. In celebration of my 75th post I have compiled a list of some of the reasons that I LOVE blogging (and blogs).

1. It forces me to be a little creative sometimes. I have never been a very creative person and I enjoy that I can create without too many critics.

2. I have found that I sort of enjoy writing. Although I don't think I am a great writer, I like the challenge of coming up with just the right way to tell my story.

3. I have found a way to keep a journal and not fail at it by "forgetting" to write for months in a row.

4. I love that I can read the blogs of family and friends and feel like I am connected to them in some way even if I don't talk to them much (or ever!), and my kids can remember their cousins by seeing pictures on those blogs.
5. I like to talk about my kids and show off their adorable faces. Can you tell?

6. I enjoy feeling connected in some way to an adult world while I am at home with two young children all day.

7. There are a lot of blogs out there that teach great things. I have subscribed to a few recipe blogs, and although I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, I really like looking.

8. I get to be inspired and moved by blogs that I find like this family's.

9. I get to laugh when I read the very clever writing of people like her and her. They also make me want to be a better writer (and live a more exciting and humor-filled life).

10. I have something that I enjoy doing and it doesn't cost any money (kind of).

11. I am becoming a faster typist all the time even if I still don't use the right fingers on the right keys.

12. I get comments from people that I didn't think cared to read my blog. It makes me happy! (Keep them coming.)

13. Most importantly, I have learned things about myself and others that I might not have learned without blogging. I hope that I will continue to learn for a very long time.

My Little Gymnasts (and Spaghetti)

2008-06-19T08:55:00.005-06:00

The boys were playing with Daddy Tuesday and proved to be quite the little gymnasts. Shaun decided to "fly" them both at the same time. Ethan thought it was pretty funny. There were two positions in this game.

Position 1:

Position 2:

Oh, there was some crashing, too.

Shaun was also throwing Spencer on to the couch. Spencer loved it and got off of the couch all by himself! He is getting so big!

After Daddy was done playing, Ethan wasn't done showing off his gymnast skills. He thought it was great when I laughed and took pictures instead of telling him to get down.

This was before the gymnastics. I'm not sure why I make spaghetti anymore. It took me at least five minutes to clean up the boys' mess.

Hey Family

2008-06-17T16:22:00.001-06:00

I just found this. Kinda funny.

Time Machine Tuesday- Pioneer Trek 2001

2008-06-17T11:47:00.005-06:00

Shaun and I lived in the same stake when we lived in Ivins. In the summer of 2001, our stake had a pioneer trek for youth conference. I didn't want to go at first, but my friends and leaders talked me into going at the last minute (well, not really the last minute. I did have time to make two skirts and make a trip to the D.I. for other clothes.) I had so much more fun than I imagined I would and I also had a some very good spiritual experiences. My Ma and Pa were an amazing couple, the Dennetts, who are my and Shaun's good friends. The most memorable parts of the trek were the women's pull and the yummy food.
The women's pull was an amazing experience where the men were "drafted" and taken away to war. The women and girls were then required to pull the handcarts up one of the biggest hills on the trek without any assistance from the men. It was so hard and many girls got sick from a combination of the heat, lack of food, and the hard work they were doing. This was where it was great to see the work of the Priesthood through blessings. The men were watching from the top of the hill and some got very emotional. That was also great to see.
The yummy food was a lot of dutch oven cooking and snacks like beef jerky and granola bars. It all tasted so good because I was so hungry. One night we even made scones. They tasted so good that I was licking the honey off of my fingers despite the two days' worth of dirt that was coating them. My extreme hunger wasn't enough to make the oatmeal we had for breakfast every morning taste good, though.

Shaun and I weren't in the same "family" so we weren't together constantly (much to his delight, I'm sure), but we did get to spend a lot of time together (much to my delight). The trek took place when I was in my totally-obsessed-with-Shaun phase, and he wasn't quite there with me yet. I thought he looked so cute in his "pioneer" outfits and hat and was so impressed by his horse-like strength.

My brother, Nathan, was on the trek, too. I love this picture of him and Shaun.
(Check out that dimple.) :)

The pioneer trek of 2001 was so much fun (and hard work) that when we were asked to be a Ma and Pa in our stake when we were first married we were excited to have the experience again. Anyone who has the opportunity to go on a pioneer trek should take it. The experience is one you can't get anywhere else and one you will never forget.

The Great Picky Debate

2008-06-14T21:20:00.005-06:00

For some reason, the idea for this post has been on my mind all day.

Okay, so most of you probably wouldn't consider this a great debate, but I am constantly trying to prove to others that it's not my fault that I'm picky and that I don't really want to be. In fact, I really wish I wasn't. It would save me a lot of trouble and it would be really nice to eat all of the things that look so yummy in pictures without gagging when I try to eat them. People apparently don't believe me. It seems that all of the not so picky eaters out there think that I'm just choosing to make life harder on myself and others that have to deal with my picky ways. I cannot begin to count the amount of arguments I have had with loved ones about this subject. Not to mention the nasty evil eyes and rude comments that have come flying in my direction my entire life.
Some might say it is a Nature vs. Nurture issue and most would probably say it is all about nurture. I am on a mission to prove that it is, indeed, mostly nature. I am not saying that nurture has nothing to do with it. I do believe that if I had been encouraged to try new and different foods as a child, even if I didn't like them, that I would be more open to trying new foods today.
I now have two children that have the ability to eat almost any food I might want to give them and here's where I attempt to prove my theory:

Nature, I believe, is the biggest factor in the food preferences of my children. My boys have the same parents, but have VERY different tastes. Ethan is my starch/carb baby. He apparently inherited his pickiness from me (that I inherited from my mom). He will not eat any vegetables except potatoes (at least none that I can think of right now) and the only fruits he will eat are bananas and peaches (only one time very recently on the peaches). He LOVES bread. He will eat ANY kind of bread as long as it doesn't have any "ketchup" (jam) on it. He loves chicken nuggets and PB&Honey sandwiches, but has recently stopped eating crust. Ethan likes just about any kind of pasta he has tried, and I think we share the same favorite restaurant, Olive Garden. Really, though, I think if I (and his body) let him, he would be perfectly happy with nothing but milk and juice. He's not even a big fan of sweets; he could definitely live without candy. Most of you are probably thinking, "well if that's all you ever give him, that's all he'll ever eat." I promise you, that's not all I ever give him. I have read multiple articles and such on how to feed picky eaters and have tried many of the "tricks". I offer him foods many, many times before I give up and there are some that I eat on a regular basis that have been put on his plate at least 50 times and he still refuses to eat them. I have tried letting him dip his food because "all kids love to dip, it's fun!", but Ethan hates all kinds of dip, even ketchup. I will persevere, but my luck is looking down. I always swore that I wouldn't raise picky eaters, but with Ethan I feel I have no choice.
Now, Spencer is my big eater. He inherited his appetite from his dad. He will eat ANYTHING. It is rare to find something that he doesn't like, and he will try any food that is offered to him. I can even get him to eat multiple bites of things that he obviously doesn't care for much. He'll just make faces and decide whether each bite should end up on his shirt or in his stomach. It usually ends up being about half and half. I offer (and have always offered) both of my kids most of the same foods and Spencer is always more eager to try new foods that Ethan ever has been. I actually think that the only reason I got Ethan to put a peach in his mouth last week is because he saw that Spencer was enjoying them. I'm hoping that this will become a new trend. We'll see. Today Spencer ate some tomato and some broccoli and enjoyed both. I was surprised, but so happy.

(I need to add that both of my kids did equally well with baby food. They both ate everything but the green stuff very well [except that Spencer didn't love cereal]. I think Ethan's problem with food now is mostly texture. Mine is, too.)

The moral of my story is that I didn't choose to be picky and neither did Ethan. Spencer didn't choose to love all foods either, he has just always been that way.
Also, to all of those out there that [think they] have to deal with my pickiness: Please stop trying to talk me out of my pickiness; I can't control my gag reflexes. And when we are trying to decide what restaurant to go to, please don't yell at me for being too picky to eat anywhere. When I say I don't want to go somewhere because I don't like the food, it's not any different from you saying that you don't want to go somewhere that you don't like. If somebody said to you, "that's where we're going, deal with it." you probably would, and so would I (and I have). If I can't eat because everything is gross then that's my problem. Stop making it yours and then blaming it on me. I never commanded the world (my family) to cater to my every food wish. I merely requested it, as would you.
Okay, I'm done!

Yesterday

2008-06-12T10:06:00.005-06:00

I was a little camera happy yesterday, so I have some more pictures to share.
Shaun took Ethan for a little ride around the parking lot on the scooter. Ethan was scared to death at the idea at first and we had to practically force him to get on the thing, but he ended up loving it. He asked to go around the parking lot again and again and told Daddy to go fast. He had a lot of fun on our "motorcycle," but you can't really tell from the pictures. It turned out that the best way for Ethan to ride was standing, but I didn't get a picture of that.

These are some pictures of Spencer's fast-growing teeth.

This is Ethan being silly and showing off his new haircut.

This is the calm before the storm.

Then, the storm. The boys started wrestling while I was trying to take pictures of them and Spencer's weapon of choice was his new set of teeth. He has become quite the biter, although he never seems to really hurt Ethan (but he hurts me!).

He's getting ready to bite Ethan's foot here.

Since Spencer learned to clap recently, he does it all the time. The other day he clapped and said "yay!" after each bite he took of his dinner. (He says yay, but it sounds more like aahhhh.) He is saying "yay" here, too.

Mixed Feelings

2008-06-11T14:19:00.003-06:00

*WARNING: Male reader discretion is advised. (This is a very girly and somewhat personal [T.M.I.] post.)

I only have a few (which may end up being more because of my mixed feelings) days left before Spencer is done nursing. We are down to one feeding a day, and he is ready to be done. I am just waiting to be sure that I am ready to be done. I don't think that I am alone in this feeling. I believe that most nursing mothers love the feelings that come with nursing a child (closeness, bonding, being needed), not to mention the convenience, weight loss (although I am skeptical about this one), menstrual (for some), and skin-saving benefits that are also involved. I have loved nursing both of my kids, although I couldn't tell you exactly what is so great about it or why it's so hard to stop. In fact, I threatened to quit nursing I think three times with Spencer (and once with Ethan), but I just couldn't make myself do it. I guess I thought that whatever feelings I was getting from nursing were worth the seemingly endless case of thrush we had, the two (really three) cases of mastitis I had, and the continuous (really, the ENTIRE time) problems that came from eczema of the nipples. Again, I can't explain why I would put myself through this amount of pain in the past year just to feed my child when there was an alternative. All I know is that I still don't want to give it up even though it is the time that I originally planned to be done. Darn mixed feelings! They almost make me want another baby (don't worry, that will NOT happen). It's time they come up with a pill that makes you think you are nursing when you're not. That would solve all of my problems today and would have made the past year so much more comfortable!

Scooter Date

2008-06-10T12:15:00.006-06:00

Shaun and I decided to celebrate picking up our scooter by taking it on a date last night. (This probably won't happen very often since we, together, exceed the weight limit, but we had to do it at least once.) It was fun and surprisingly not as scary as I thought it would be. I did get a little nervous on the turns and while changing lanes, but I felt pretty safe for the most part. The best part was when we were going up a pretty steep hill and were only able to make it up to 20 mph. It was a little embarrassing, but we got a good laugh and I'm sure the motorists around us did, too. In fact, judging from the looks we got throughout our evening, we must have looked something like this: (I guess you weren't too far off, scooter.)

And I think McD must have been lying (or we really did look that bad) because none of the motorcyclists on the road (not even the old ones, not even in the dark) acknowledged us. Even the fellow putt-putters on scooters seemed to look the other way as we passed. I was very cold on our way home because I forgot to bring a jacket, but we had fun anyway. My friend and I also decided, after she rode home from the dealership with me, that we will be using the scooter (at least sometimes) when we go out together from now on. She also decided that she wants to buy one for herself. The scooter is so much fun, but I might have to get some full leathers because the thought of the possible road rash makes my skin crawl!

Scooter

2008-06-07T14:33:00.005-06:00

Since gas is now priced around $4 per gallon and we have a 20 mpg minivan, we have decided to get a scooter to try and save money on gas. The most we ever use the van is for Shaun to drive to work and back and since he doesn't need car seats to do that, we thought this would be a good option. Luckily, my friend works for a dealer that sells scooters and she got us a great deal on an already inexpensive, cute scooter. Ours looks just like the one in the picture except it's blue. They didn't have any blue ones on the internet and we don't get ours until next week, so you'll just have to imagine what it looks like blue (and so will we until we get it). Blue wasn't actually our first choice, but they are selling them so quickly that it was the only color we could get if we wanted it next week. We have been told that this scooter will get around 80 mpg so we expect to save quite a bit of gas money. Although I did (and still do) have issues with the safety of a scooter, I think the money saved might be worth it. And it will be nice to fill up the tank with $6 instead of $95!

More Pics

2008-06-06T14:11:00.005-06:00

I just can't seem to come up with much to post unless I have pictures to share, so I'm sharing more pictures.
The first two are of Spencer stuck under a chair. He couldn't figure out how to get the bottom half of his body over the rung. Instead of helping him right away I laughed with Ethan and took some pictures. You could call me a bad mother (I don't mind), but he wasn't sad at all. I think he was enjoying the challenge.

The boys both LOVE bath time.

Spencer Overload

2008-05-31T15:24:00.007-06:00

I took some cute pictures of Spencer today, so I thought I'd share.

My poor children both fell asleep while I was hanging new blinds in their room. Ethan fell asleep on the couch with Daddy. Spencer was not so lucky.

Here's a pretty good one of Spencer's new teeth. He has the same snaggle tooth Ethan had. (But not for long; they're coming in fast!)

These are the cheesy smiley faces he made while I was taking pictures of him. (I think he was really enjoying having the camera in his face. What a ham!)

Spencer really likes pointing at things (and people) lately. When he masters a skill, he really likes to show it off!

Striking a pose.

On the move.

Another one of Spencer's new tricks is saying (shaking his head) "no". Oh what a joy! I guess the bright side is that it's getting a little bit easier to tell what he does and does not want. I tried to get him to wave to the camera, but he wouldn't. Oh, well I'm sure you can all picture it. Oh, and the big scratch on his arm is a gift from Ethan, of course.

Quick Update

2008-05-29T21:39:00.002-06:00

I went back to see Dr. Hoopes today. Before I went I thought my vision might be better and he confirmed that it is! He said it looked like the spots had improved by about 70% (although, they couldn't find my chart and I don't know how good his memory is). He also gave me the all clear to wear contacts, but I need to wear them less than I did before. I had only been wearing them 2 or 3 days a week before, so I'm not sure that I'll wear them much at all now. I still have to see my regular eye doctor in a few weeks, but things are definitely looking up!

Purse Tag--SO Embarrassing

2008-05-22T10:08:00.006-06:00

I was tagged by my sister and am now required to reveal the contents of my purse/diaper bag. This will be the story I tell when somebody asks me my most embarrassing moment from now on. I usually can't think of one, but this will do. I wasn't lucky enough to be tagged shortly after cleaning my bag out like my sister was, so this is quite difficult to share. Here are my embarrassing photos.

I really love my bag (a gift from my sister-in-law). It has a TON of pockets to stuff things in (as you will see in the remaining photos).

Various papers and receipts.

More various papers and such.

This is all just trash. (GROSS!) Notice the sacrament cup? :)

Appointment reminder cards (most are past).

My wallet, candy from my grandpa's funeral, and other necessities.

Things I acquired at yesterday's appointment.

All of these are definitely necessary. (Except, maybe, the TWO baby spoons!)

Although these weren't in my bag when I was taking these pictures, my phone and
keys usually are.

After doing this I'm starting to think I need a smaller bag, but I don't think I could give up all of the wonderful features this one offers. I am tagging Stephanie and amykaniggit.

Finally! (I Hope)

2008-05-21T22:13:00.002-06:00

I spent 2 1/2 LONG hours at the Hoopes Vision Center today along with my very kind Aunt Diane who watched (fought with) my kids then drove me home afterward. My dad also was able to come as he was in town for work. After seeing three different doctors, the last one (Dr. Hoopes, Jr.) finally was able to tell me what is wrong with my eyes. Turns out, it's not any type of virus. My eyes are suffering from a lack of oxygen due to contact lens overuse. Obviously I was instructed to continue wearing my glasses until they cleared up. He gave me some steroid drops to use for the next couple of weeks that he said should help my eyes to heal. I have to see him again next week to check for improvement. Then I will need to see my optometrist again so that he can give me the ok to go back to using contacts (although I'm not entirely sure I want to). Dr. Hoopes said that some people's eyes can handle years and years of contact lens wear, but some can't. He said that even if my eyes do heal completely this could happen again. If it does he said I just shouldn't ever wear contacts again. So... I am relieved to know what's wrong with me, but I am not excited that I have to continue wearing my new trend: sunglasses over glasses. (I REALLY need to find some clip-ons that fit my frames!)

Oopsy!

2008-05-20T17:27:00.004-06:00

Ethan still has trouble pronouncing some words. There are some that only I know what he's saying. One that he pronounces incorrectly is stuck. For some reason he says it A LOT. I can't help but chuckle every time he says "Mommy, I suck!". Shaun still gets a little shock sometimes when he says "suck" before realizing that he's really saying "stuck".

An Aunt's Touch

2008-05-20T13:29:00.012-06:00

There is apparently something about having an aunt around that makes Spencer want to show off. Last Thursday, while Kimberlie was here, Spencer finally (a month and a half after his first two erupted) cut his third tooth, crawled on his hands and knees for the first time, and learned to drink from a straw. Although he sometimes forgets how to crawl and use a straw, it was a very big day for him. Then, on Saturday, Spencer waved for the first time (to Kimberlie). It was so cute, and now he waves every time we walk through a doorway. He is growing up so fast and it is so fun to watch his little brain work. He now gets so excited when he knows he has learned something new.

Also, a little update on my eyes. Everything seems to look the same as it did Saturday, as of yesterday. My eye doctor's partner (his daughter) explained to me that the reason they are so stumped is that normally when people have eye herpes (which it looks like to them) their eyes look like mine for a day or two then break out in sores outside of the eye then it goes away; sort of like a cold sore. Mine is just sitting beneath the surface, not changing much, and not going away. I am off to a cornea specialist tomorrow to see if he/she can tell me what's wrong with me.

More Isn't Always Better

2008-05-18T08:20:00.004-06:00

I made my trip to the eye doctor yesterday and was surprised to hear that the scarring is now also in my left eye. It is hardly noticeable and I don't think it has gotten any worse since yesterday morning, but it is there. My doctor is confused as to why there is no redness or pain and thinks it may not be a virus. He asked of I get cold sores and said it may be herpes, but he is still not sure how much worse it will get or if it will ever get better. He is sending me to a cornea specialist on Monday for a second opinion. Although I can still see well enough to function normally, this may be more serious than I thought. Hopefully the specialist will be able to give me more of an idea of what to expect. I am also hoping that if I have to have surgery there will be a true silver lining in the form of corrective surgery for my near-sightedness. From what I've read it looks like it would be very possible to have both procedures done at the same time (possibly with little or no extra cost). I really am just speculating about all of this; trying to see the bright side, even if it is through clouds.

Seeing Clouds

2008-05-15T10:13:00.005-06:00

On Tuesday afternoon I was on the computer (of course) and I noticed that things were looking different through my right eye. I usually can see really clearly with my glasses on, so I thought this was very odd. I decided to ignore it (sort of, I was still wondering what could be wrong). Then, yesterday morning when I got on the computer I noticed that my vision was even worse than on Tuesday. I was curious so I went on WebMD to see if I could "self-diagnose" my problem. That probably wasn't the best idea because I started to think I might be having a stroke. Then I determined that the loss of clarity was actually cloudiness and not blurriness. That sort of calmed me down, but I was still very nervous about what might be wrong with me. Was I going blind? I decided to call the eye doctor and make an appointment for the afternoon. Luckily Kimberlie and Mom were going to be in town to help me out with the kids and a ride if needed. At first I thought the doctor would think I was crazy, but then he looked into my eye and said "ohhh". He knew exactly what it was. What a relief (I guess). Turns out that I have some sort of virus in my eye that has caused cloudy scars on my cornea. He didn't say much of what that would mean for me, but he did say that because it's a virus there's nothing he can do about it. We just have to hope it doesn't get worse and that it heals on its own. He told me to stop wearing my contacts for now. When I got home I looked up corneal scarring and virus on the trusty internet and I found out that one option to restore my vision could be a cornea transplant. Weird! My vision is a little worse today, but I'm still hoping it will get better before I go back to the eye doctor on Saturday. Although I am still worried that I might completely lose vision in my right eye, I am so glad that it wasn't a stroke. Partial blindness is so much better than the possible effects of a stroke!
The picture is of cornea scars. I don't think mine is that bad though.

Sisters

2008-05-11T22:03:00.004-06:00

Aren't sisters great? Well, mine are. Although the reason for their visit was not all good, I was so happy to spend time with my sisters this past weekend. My sisters and I always have a blast when we are together, and although we usually suffer from a lack of sleep it is always worth it. Last night both of them stayed at my house and I was so excited to have them here. I love them both and they are my best friends. I could talk to either of them on the phone for hours, and three-way calls are always fun. We all live WAY too far from each other, so phone calls are essential. My sisters have given me six of the cutest, most lovable nieces and nephews ever. They are always willing to help me with anything (especially by giving great advice) and can always provide a great laugh. They have both always been great examples to me and I've been blessed to have them to look up to. I know they put up with a lot from me (especially since I am the "baby sister"), but they never seem to mind. I was sad to see them go today, but luckily I get to see Kimberlie again later this week.
I love you (and always miss you) girls! Although you can't always be here for me, thanks for always being there for me, wherever you are!

Time Machine Tuesday- Memories of Grandpa

2008-05-06T09:31:00.004-06:00

My Grandpa Roberts passed away on Sunday. We've seen this coming for a while so we were all prepared and are glad that he doesn't have to suffer with weakness anymore. We will be going to Idaho this Saturday to celebrate his life.
I never lived very close to my grandparents, so I didn't have a lot of time to get to know my grandpa, but I do have some fond memories of him. The first thing that always comes to mind when I think of my grandpa is See's Little Pops. Grandpa always had a supply of Butterscotch Little Pops to give to us (his grandkids). They were (and are) so yummy. I always looked forward to going to Grandma and Grandpa's house (or having them visit us) and getting some candy from Grandpa. He even gave me a whole box of them for my baptism. Grandpa was very good at fixing things and had an engineer's mind. He had the coolest "toys" in his room that we always loved to play with. I don't know what they were called, but they both included metal balls and demonstrated some laws of physics. I also remember that grandpa had a lot of baseball caps. Some funny, some not. One of my favorites was a pink (I think it was pink) one with a very long bill. It was funny. Grandpa also enjoyed making latch hook rugs. There are some very nice ones around his house. One that Ethan and I really liked last time we went there was a portrait of Christ hanging on the wall in the hallway.
Grandpa was a great man and very loved. We will miss you, Grandpa, but we'll think of you fondly every time we eat a See's Little Pop!

Grandpa and Grandma Roberts on our wedding day.

Got Spring?

2008-05-02T11:19:00.002-06:00

I am not a winter person. I know I said in an earlier post that I missed St. George weather. I am still missing it and it is May. Yesterday we reached a high of only 47 degrees. Again, it is May! We had snow showers (none stayed on the ground) and some mountain areas only about an hour away from us got 32" of snow! Where is spring?! I am really quite finished with winter weather, I sure hope it ends soon. It is warming up again and is supposed to get up to the 70s in the next week, but I have lost all hope that it will continue past the seven-day forecast that I saw last night. The thing that really doesn't make sense is that we've had to endure this cold spring, but haven't received enough precipitation. Please, spring, get here (and stay) soon!

More Pictures

2008-04-29T10:29:00.005-06:00

I just can't help it. We seem to get more good pictures around here than good stories. Here are some pictures that I liked from the last week. I know I'm not doing so well with Time Machine Tuesday, I just have a hard time thinking of any good stories from long ago. I will work on it, though.

I think this pretty much sums Ethan up.

Shaun says Ethan looks just like Mommy in this picture.

Cute sleeping baby.

I just LOVE Spencer's "cleavage".

An airplane drawn by Ethan using his favorite medium.

Spencer and Mommy.

Mommy's Little Helper

2008-04-28T16:07:00.003-06:00

Ethan has always been afraid of the vacuum, any vacuum. They're just too loud for him. (All loud noises have always made him nervous. I went to see a fireworks show when I was eight months pregnant with him and he was completely still during it and for about an hour afterward. I thought something might be wrong with him, but that's another story.) Every time I turn on the vacuum I have to tell him to get ready and he usually runs to sit on the couch. The other day, he made a huge mess with Cheerios and I told him he needed to pick them all up. He started picking them up one by one and taking them to the garbage can. He kept getting distracted, so I mentioned to him that if he used the vacuum he could pick them up a lot faster. I said "Do you want to use the vacuum?" He, of course, said no with a nervous look on his face. I went to get the Dust Buster anyway, just in case. I, not wanting to scare him away from his task, asked him if I could turn it on. He said "NO!" and ran to the couch. I then told him I wouldn't turn it on until he said I could, but I kept reminding him that it would be faster to use the vacuum. I finally couldn't take his slowness anymore and told him I was going to turn the vacuum on, but that I would hold him so he was OK. I turned it on and he jumped, but soon warmed up to it and even put his hand in front of the nozzle. I showed him how it worked and coaxed him into touching the handle. He loved seeing the cereal "disappear" when he touched it, so he vacuumed the entire area under the table with glee. He now asks for the green vacuum when he sees a mess on the floor. Yay for little helpers!

So Cool!

2008-04-22T10:17:00.006-06:00

There was a car accident less than a block from our house yesterday evening just before I left for work. I saw many emergency vehicles parked in the area when I left, but I didn't get close enough to see what had happened. Then, while I was at work I called home and Ethan got on the phone to tell me about the BIG, LOUD, helicopter he saw. Shaun then got on the phone to explain. They had heard the life flight helicopter land, so they decided to go outside and check it out. They were able to get pretty close to the helicopter and when it took off, it went right over their heads. Shaun said that it didn't look like they actually put anyone in the helicopter, so hopefully that meant that the injuries didn't require it after all. I haven't been able to find any news about the accident so we still don't know what happened, but Shaun thinks it might have involved a motorcycle. Although I'm not glad that there was an accident, I am glad that Ethan was able to see a helicopter so close up. He has always loved helicopters, and he thought this was SO COOL.

Nice Hair!

2008-04-21T08:48:00.003-06:00

This is especially for Scrappy. I couldn't pick just one picture, so get ready for another overload.

We learned from trying this hair do that Spencer's hair is quite a bit darker than Ethan's was. You can see that, too if you look at Ethan's mohawk picture in post Number 50.

Number 50

2008-04-20T14:08:00.000-06:00

This is my 50th post! I know most people don't celebrate until they reach 100, but I think it's time for a celebration. I've decided that, in honor of my 50th post, I will share 50 of my favorite pictures from our library before I entered the blog world. Here they are for your viewing pleasure:

Coming home from the hospital. So tiny!

In the Bili bed. It was so sad, but so cute.

Daddy and Ethan took lots of naps together. I thought it was cute.

Ethan's blessing day.

Eating cousin Addison's ear.

Cute thumb sucking.

Eating Grandma's bouncer.

Daddy found him sleeping like this. So funny.

He was laughing so hard.

I loved his snaggle tooth.

In Uncle Nate's hammock.

He loves his bread.

Daddy put me in a tree!

Fun in a pillowcase.

How many cousins does it take to bathe and dress an Ethan? :)

How do I look?

He loves his brother!

Birthday cake mess.

This is where the Care Bears obsession began. This is how he carried it while crawling.

Looking at a waterfall with Grandma and Grandpa.

Our little hero.

Here he was playing with the light that was shining through the blinds. It was so funny!

Peek-a-boo!

Spencer and Uncle R.Jay.

Spencer and Uncle Nathan.

Ethan was really loving Mary this day.

Spencer and Shaylie.

Brothers.

Look-Alike Boys

2008-04-19T11:11:00.000-06:00

Our boys don't look anything alike, do they?

Can you tell which is which?
(I'm sure you probably can, but I just thought it was funny not only that they look alike, but also that they are laying almost exactly the same way.)

Our little Soldier

2008-04-18T16:14:00.004-06:00

Spencer has mastered the army crawl and he has the red knees and forearms to prove it. These pictures don't show how red they really are, but they give you an idea.

In action...

Random Favorites

2008-04-18T14:53:00.005-06:00

Here are some random pictures from the past couple of months that I thought were blog-worthy.

Ethan's paper towel tower. He built it all by himself.

Uncle Nathan and Aunt Christine's very cute puppy, Briggs.

GROSS!

But he loved the water.

There's that toothy grin.

Riding the Daddy horse.

We think diapers make great hats!

Ethan thought it was so funny when Spencer got food stuck on his face that he asked me to take a picture of it.

Ethan's new chair.
He got up there to reach the goldfish on the counter then I guess he decided it would make a pretty good seat.

I know this is borderline inappropriate, but isn't this the cutest (big) bum you've ever seen?

Time Machine Tuesday- Park City, 2006

2008-04-15T10:17:00.004-06:00

In December of 2006, Grandpa and Krista came all the way from Canada and rented a condo in Park City so that we could all celebrate Christmas together. It is always great to see Grandpa since the distance between us makes it hard. We had a lot of fun in Park City doing all sorts of things with family. Some of the "big kids" went skiing and to the movies (of course) while we were there. Some also went tubing. I was newly pregnant and didn't do too much, but I enjoyed spending time with Shaun's family. The kids loved playing together and getting in to all sorts of mischief. We had one night when Ethan was up for hours crying and refusing to go back to sleep. That woke Addison up, too so we had two screaming kids at about 3:00 am. Shaun finally took Ethan for a drive to calm him down, but if I remember correctly, he never went back to sleep. It was REALLY COLD at night in the condo (at least downstairs), but we had hot chocolate every morning to thaw us out. Here are some pictures of our fun.

There were lots of HUGE icicles.

There was fun in the snow...

And not so much fun in the snow.

There were silly hats.

And, of course, there was Grandpa.

There was fun with new toys.

And fun in the tub with cousins.

Thank you Grandpa and Krista (and the rest of the family) for such a great time!

Ethan's First Date

2008-04-10T22:13:00.003-06:00

Ethan and I went on a date tonight, just the two of us. We actually started our evening out with dinner. Grandpa Dibb was here, so we decided we would eat with him and Daddy and Spencer. After dinner, Ethan and I dropped Spencer and Daddy off at home and headed off to the mall. Going to the mall doesn't seem like that much fun, but this trip was different. Ethan was excited when I told him he got to walk in the mall instead of being in a stroller. We headed to The Disney Store first and on the way we saw a car and a truck parked in the mall. He thought that was interesting. At The Disney Store Ethan was fascinated with the variety of Cars items and I followed him around as he showed me every McQueen and Mater he could see. When we were done at Disney, we went next door to our intended destination: The Build-A-Bear Workshop. Ethan ran straight to the back of the store, where he knew he could get a red heart, and quickly snatched one up. I then led him to the front of the store to show him all of the cool (under $15) bears they had that we could stuff and take home to sleep with. (This was the whole reason for the visit since he now sleeps with my pink and purple Care Bears that he's been in love with for about 18 months. I kind of hoped he would pick a more masculine friend to sleep with so that I could have my bears back before they got totally trashed.) He thought they were nice and soft and he liked all of the different colors, but he didn't seem to be overly impressed by any except for the green (I think that's his favorite color) dinosaur that was over my $15 dollar limit. I let it rest for a few minutes while he ran around the store and checked things out and tried to play on their computers that disappointed him when they wouldn't do anything (they were for naming your bear and we didn't have one). I then took him back to the front of the store and showed him the animals he could choose from and let him hold each again. I asked "do you want to take that one home, or do you want to put it back?" To each, he said, "put it back." Instead of wasting my money on a bear that would definitely not be a good replacement for his Care Bears, I decided to leave that store without making a purchase. Then the fun began...
Ethan just walked through the mall telling me all about the letters and shapes that he saw, spelling the names of almost every store we passed. I think this was his favorite part of our date. He was so excited. When we got to the end of the mall, we encountered a pond (or what ever it's called in a mall) that Ethan just had to throw pennies in to, so he threw about 6 in with glee. After the water, we walked back through the mall and to the car.
I was hoping that our first date would be a little more memorable and "special" than it was, but when Ethan talked the entire drive home about all the things he was going to tell Daddy about when we got home, I was satisfied that he thought our date was special. My satisfaction only increased when he talked Shaun's ear off for 10 minutes after we got home, telling and re-telling him all of the cool things we saw. I really enjoyed my time alone with my Buddy, too. This will have to become at least a monthly tradition.

Ethan's Favorites

2008-04-07T16:41:00.002-06:00

I've decided to add to my sidebar a link list of the websites that Ethan likes to play on. He has favorite games and activities within each of the sites, but he will usually try all of the games at some point. For learning the alphabet and colors and shapes, Fisher-Price is my favorite. For learning words and reading, I really like WordWorld. The others are also really great! I just thought since I talk about Ethan learning so much on the internet, I might share where he's doing his learning.

The Burial

2008-04-06T15:31:00.002-06:00

This morning I awoke to the sounds of my children playing in their room. I stayed in bed and listened while drifting back to sleep. About 20-30 minutes later Spencer started fussing so I reluctantly (I was tired, and the cry started as an "I'm ready to get out of bed" cry, not an "I'm hurt"cry.) got out of bed, went to the bathroom, and made my way to the boys' room. When I got there, Spencer's crying had escalated and his crib was blocking the door. I peeked in to tell Ethan to help me move it and, from what I saw, the adrenaline immediately kicked in so I pushed the door hard and moved the crib. Spencer was in a panic buried beneath at least a foot of clothes and blankets that Ethan had pulled from the dresser and some boxes in the closet. Spencer is obviously ok, but we all got a good scare, and I guess I will be putting the boxes of clothes somewhere else.

So what if I'm Canadian...

2008-04-05T19:05:00.008-06:00

Shhhhhhhhh Shaun here. Don't tell Emily I'm writing a blog. J/K This will be my first "Silly Saturday" blog. Okay that was another joke. Sorry, you guys and your blogs crack me up. I need to make light of the matter. Actually I'm impressed with all your creativity! Keep it up!

So check it...I was at the redbox today getting a flick and right next to me there was a coin for cash machine. A man was dumping his jar of change in the sifter. A minute goes by and the machine spits out a single coin. The man picks up the stray coin and brings it close to his face.

"D*mn. A Canadian coin." He says.

I looked over at him and said ever so calmly "I'm a Canadian". The man smiled and I myself had to chuckle.

Thanks for tuning into "Silly Saturdays" with Shaun. Join me next week for hopefully another crazy moment out of my life... hehe.

Time Machine Tuesday- Ethan Learns to Crawl

2008-04-01T14:08:00.003-06:00

One of the best things I have ever been able to watch is Ethan learning to crawl. He didn't like staying in one spot, so he was determined to get moving any way he could. In these pictures he was about 7 1/2 months old.

What was so great about the way he learned to crawl was that he really had the arm movements down (even though he would use both hands at once a lot instead of alternating), but he just couldn't figure out how to get his knees to work. So he would start out looking like he might get it...

Then every time he'd try, it would usually end in a face plant like this:

or this:

He did finally work it out, but I could have watched him crawl like this forever. The best part was that these face plants didn't seem to phase him, he just went right on to do it again.

I also love this picture:

It is so great (and weird) to look back at these pictures. I forget that Ethan used to be Spencer's size, and he looks so much different now I almost don't believe the old pictures are really of him. I think I expect to see Spencer's face when I look at a picture of my baby.

D's

2008-04-01T13:42:00.002-06:00

Can you tell how much our little artist loves D's?

Whoa Neti!

2008-03-30T21:54:00.004-06:00

I first saw a Neti Pot on Oprah last year. Dr. Oz said that using one really cleans out your sinuses and can relieve symptoms of allergies and other nasal/sinus problems. I thought it was pretty interesting and kind of gross (they demonstrated how to use it on the show). A couple of months later my sister told me that her friend swore by it and recommended that she get one to relieve her nasal allergy symptoms. This week I was looking online for things I could do to relieve my cold symptoms (the medicine I was taking wasn't doing anything) and the use of a Neti Pot was one recommendation. I sent Shaun to get one in my desperation. We got the SinuCleanse brand that is plastic and was only $10. It is so cool and grosser than I thought, especially since i have a cold. It does work, but the relief (at least with a horrible cold) is only temporary. I'm sure that if it was just allergies you were treating it would last longer. The greatest thing about it is that it is drug-free. Another great perk is that it only cost $10 and you can use it forever. I definitely think it is worth the investment if you need relief from sinus problems and your medication isn't quite cutting it.

Flashback Fridays

2008-03-27T11:56:00.005-06:00

I stole the idea to do Flashback Fridays from my sister. I was totally planning on doing it starting today, but I decided yesterday that I would change things up a bit. I will be doing Time Machine Tuesdays instead in honor of Shaun's favorite trilogy, Back To The Future. So check back Tuesday. Hopefully I will have remembered to post a story from our past.

Ethan's Letters (and Our Colds)

2008-03-27T09:52:00.004-06:00

I thought I would share some of Ethan's letter drawings. This was done on the computer. Shaun taught him how to "draw" (and erase) on Photoshop's Doodle Pad. His hand-eye coordination continues to amaze me. It's difficult for me to "draw" using a mouse! He does do better with a pen (actually, he does his best drawings on his Doodle Pro, which makes it impossible for me to keep them), but I thought this was a pretty good attempt, too. The letters in this drawing are E, A, D, (a line) and F.

I love how he just keeps adding lines to his E's, but he leaves only two on his F's. His favorite letters to write are D and H. I think the line before the F was going to be an H, but he didn't have enough room to finish it.

We are all sick with a cold right now. I guess I jinxed us when I commented on my sister's blog that we hadn't been sick yet this season! I got it the worst, and today my voice only works when it REALLY wants to and my nose looks a lot like Rudolph's. The kids have had some trouble sleeping, but have not been too bad as far as runny noses and coughs go.

Ethan's Signing Time Audition

2008-03-25T13:51:00.002-06:00

Anybody who knows me well knows that I have been teaching ASL (American Sign Language) to Ethan since he was a baby. I first fell in love with ASL when I was in middle school and took an ASL class. I found that it came pretty naturally to me and since then I have been teaching myself here and there and I also took some classes in college. While I was taking those college classes, my sister and I came across the first Signing Time video and decided to teach my one year old nephew some signs. My family and I were amazed at how quickly he caught on and how well he could communicate before he could even speak. From then I decided I would teach my children to sign as babies. Ethan used his first sign (more) at about 10 months. He learned very quickly from there. I loved that he could tell me what he wanted instead of crying and making me guess what he wanted then. Now it's just fun that my son knows a second language. Ethan loves watching Signing Time and learning new signs. When we heard that they were holding auditions for Signing Time, I thought it would be fun for him so we did it. It is produced here in Utah, so it won't be too hard to get him to the studio if he makes it. You can watch his audition here.
To anybody who has little ones (especially those that can't speak yet) and hasn't heard about the benefits of signing with your child: I strongly recommend Signing Time as a way to get started. Not only is it great for your kids, but the signs are taught so simply that you can learn along with them so that you can then reinforce their learning. This is what they say on their website (signingtime.com:)

How can Signing Time help your children?

Would you like to communicate with your child before they can talk?
Do you want to increase your child's reading and language abilities?

Scientific studies show that "typical" children who learn to sign:

have higher IQ scores
are better adjusted
read at an earlier age

Many parents observe that by learning to communicate earlier, the "terrible twos" are not so terrible—children can use a sign instead of throwing a tantrum to express their needs.

And I'm a believer! I have heard of other companies who are trying to cash in on this concept that do not teach true ASL (I think one is called Baby Signs). Those I do not recommend. This could confuse children, especially if they think they know sign language when they're older and they try using it and aren't understood (that's strictly my opinion). I'm not sure when we find out if Ethan "made it", but I will definitely post about it if he does.