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Beautiful grass!

We have grass! It may not be perfect yet but it is so great to see green grass instead of 8 inch weeds. We had it delivered on Friday and our wonderful friends came over and helped get it done so quick. Thank you! Grandma Barb and Grandpa Doyle helped us with children maintenance and sprinkler activation. I am so grateful for all the help that we have had. A yard is one of those projects that can spiral into a spending frenzy. Grass, dirt, gravel, tractor work, sprinkler heads, boulders, pretty rocks, maybe flowers, trees, shrubs and so much more. (imagine a scream here)

Well we just have to keep working on it and then we will be able to have a yard that our friends and family will want to come over and hang with us and our kids. Because we won't be able to afford anything else for awhile (ha ha ha).

On a family note, today Jared blessed Mallory. They had a garden party at their home after. We love to hang with the fam. Some pictures are included to show our fun day.

Weekend update

Here was our week in a quick review:

So we are finally getting our yard started/finished. We started a lot of it last year but with a baby on the way we stopped after sprinklers and waited for this spring. So we have waited patiently for the freak snow storms to stop and the wind to quit blowing semi trucks over. My friend has his own tractor and he was so nice to come and dig our trampoline pit for our kids. I am sure Carson liked the fact that

1- He got to work the scoop and thumb to move rocks 2- He got a huge dirt pile created from the pit to play on/in. 3- It was all here in his own backyard.

So now just a little level work from Grandpa Doyle and we are ready! I keep asking Chet about the steps to get ready. To me laying sod can't be that easy. I make everything harder then it is. I want to read up on it so I don't mess it all up.

Soccer season has been fun for Codie and Carson. Codie gets the game and the idea so much better this year. She knows what she is doing and has fun playing. Carson is still learning and that is funny too. The last game he kept running right along side this other boy who was wearing a beanie (cold weather still) and trying to get a look at him or his hat. I had to coach the last game and the second half, the kids were all laying down and wanting to take a rest. It is funny to watch the difference in ages.

The most crazy thing on my week list was that I started working a little at the Washington Terrace Playhouse again. Doing choreography for a show. I swore to Chet that I would limit myself and would only go up once a week. It was apparently more traumatic then I remembered. On the way there, I completely blocked out how to get there. I started calling Chet and I couldn't reach him, so I was panicking and dialing. I finally figured out the turn and made it there. But I can't get swallowed up in community theatre again. Just a little dab here and there.

Today was one of those days where all pistons are firing and I "heard" the message at church clearly. To summarize: I am a mother of Zion. It is not an easy job. There are blessings that I will inherit for this call. Prayers are said in my behalf.

Have a great week.

Teeth part II

So here is my jack o'lantern child. She has two big top teeth and then lots of big holes.

Tooth Fairy Bank of Syracuse?

Ok seriously, does anyone know what the NORMAL amount of teeth a child should lose at age 7. Codie pulled another one out at school today. It has become some weird obsession. She just barely gets it to wiggle and then a day or so later, gone! She really does look like a jack-o-lantern. I am just happy she hasn't started to lisp or change the way she speaks. Anyways the good old Fairy better have some serious cash if she is going to keep my little girl smiling. And Codie thinks she is so sneaky. She keeps trying to catch the fairy. She will tell Chet and I that the tooth is on her night stand and it was under her pillow. I am surprised she hasn't set out a decoy that explodes with ink. Codie is a stinker for sure.

My day off!

I know moms don't get a day off, but Tuesdays are supposed to be mine and sometimes I want to stay up all night to get the most out of it. I start thinking of all the things I would like to do. Like go to Tai Pan. Or to lunch with a friend. But most the time I end up with laundry, groceries and making dinner. Very exciting!
I have been running so fast with both kids in soccer on different nights and dance classes too, poor Chet sees us all runing out the door as he comes home from work.
My whole life I imagined that I would be this super mom and my kids would be so happy and look great all the time and would be in sports and dance and everything they could get into and I would have all the patience and time to be there for all of it. Whew was I dreaming. And now it is all reality it seems so strange that I am the crazy mom running everywhere. I always thought that part of my life was so far into the future. I better wake up and smell the soccer cleats before it passes by. It is fun and I hope my kids will look back and remember it all as good times.
Recap of our week: Codie lost another tooth. She is pulling them all out herself with no crying or fuss. (I think she wants the $$$) Carson has started blaming Callie for things around the house that go wrong. (she is 10 months old) Callie is speed crawling and the smacking of her little hands on the tile is so funny. She is trying to let go and take a step but still likes her crawl. We all tried our best to watch conference and had dinner at Doyle and Barbs' on Sunday. Tom-car rides were had, we got to see Jared, Holly and Mallory and they sent us home with cupcakes!!
Delicious.

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Cutest Family ever!!!

Carson, Codie & Callie

Easter Weekend

We had a busy weekend as usual. I always joke that you can sleep when you are dead, but some weekends it would be nice to rest a little.
We always have crazy Saturdays. Chet was working so my new neighbor Michelle and her son came with us to the city Easter egg hunt. I warned her it only lasts 10 seconds at the most. Funny that you start training your children just after Valentines how to pick those eggs up and get the most candy. My Carson has become a picky candy eater. So it was hilarious when I am trying to coach him and say " grab that and that one". He just stopped and looked at me and said "I don't want too many eggs because I don't like that kind of candy and I don't want any stickers." Kids are definitely too spoiled if they will turn down mass amounts of sugar. We had fun though and we were back home within a half hour of leaving. It was kind of a rush. Then I worked a little until we left for the Jazz game. Good game, lots of screaming!
Sunday was pretty dresses and outfits for the kids. We had family dinner and the weather was so nice. Hopefully we won't see snow anymore.

Spring?

First Day of Spring?

It's winter in Utah
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At twenty-five below.
Oh, how I love Utah
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.
Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Utah
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground

Funny poem from someone else's blog.

St Patricks day on the "Brooklyn Bridge"

Lots of bands playing U2 (a little irish I guess)

"Fancy "Todai Japanese restaurant

The Bellagio

Vegas Baby!!!

I know it throws everyone off when I tell them we went to Las Vegas this weekend. Our ten year wedding anniversary is tommorow and we were supposed to go to Maui for our big Ten. We were talking about it all last year and then around Christmas time we started asking each other if we had made any arrangements. We had not picked a date, saved money, got a babysitter, nothing. So I said the most grown up thing I think I have ever said since "I do", I said lets just put our yard in and go next year. I really want nice grass again and shrubs and rocks. I was so spoiled at our last house to have grass done when we moved in. But it will make the wait worth it when my kids can stay outside to play and I won't have to sweep every night all the dirt that gets tracked in. So back to Vegas. We always get the winter blahs and head to St. George this time of year. But it has not been that warn there and gas prices are crazy. So I found a trip and we flew there with no children for the first time in our parenting years. We have left them overnight with grandparents but never for more than 18 hours. We stayed out late and slept in even later. We ordered room service for breakfast (another thing we have never done) and I took the longest shower in my whole life! (Sorry to waste water but once in my whole lifetime?) I am sure people who go to Vegas do a lot worse. We ate long dinners and went to a couple of shows. We walked and walked! We watched the Bellagio water show from the top of the Eiffel Tower at Midnight. This was such a fun trip for us to reconnect as a couple who got married because we were interesting to each other. We sometimes forget to check in with each other on that flirt level that brought us together in the first place. Some weeks we are "mom and dad" and that is great but we need to remember what started this whole thing we have here. So home again, tired and a few pounds heavier but very happy.

Activity Days

Today was like a mad dash and the finish line just keeps getting moved. I had to work a little first thing this morning then my next appt cancelled. Sometimes that happens at just the right moment. I needed more time to slow the pace down a bit. We had activity days at the church and I had some of the students from Fran Brown come down to help the girls learn to style their hair and polish nails. The girls are very sweet. We have one girl in the group who didn't want anything done to her hair because she is"sporty". Isn't it funny at age 8 and 9 they are already labeling themselves and others. She finally did paint her nails but no hair.
Codie is not old enough but since her mom is a leader she usually gets to go and do what they all do. Carson and Callie go and sometimes I feel like i should get a sitter but I already abuse the parents enough. Activity days are also hard because I get home and dinner is now going to be late. I should do a crock pot but that would require planning. We ended up with gopher for dinner. That is where you "gopher" yourself and find something in the fridge to eat. I feel like a bad mom when we eat crappy but I try to make up for it later on in the week.
It was a pretty fun day and I am totally exhausted.

Callie is on the move. She looks kinda like "Slimy" the worm on sesame street.

Weekend flash

I swear when I was a kid, weekends lasted a long time. We had time to have a slumber party and go roller skating. Saturday we would clean inside or out. Go to the mall, a movie and dinner and still play until bed. Then Sunday was our rest day.
Now we see if we can get the house straightened a little before Sunday because the time has escaped us once again. We all felt pretty good this weekend. Yeah! Friday night my wonderful husband stayed home and babysat for me and my friend Stacy. We went to dinner. It doesn't sound like much but I needed it. Just to order and wait for my food. No bathroom trips or coloring on the menu. We talked about where our lives are going and what we have learned. I felt like I was in a movie where they talk about poetry and books written in french. I felt smart that I had something to contribute. We came back early and our kids didn't miss us at all.
Saturday was monster shopping day. If you know me you will know how exciting this next sentence is. Ross opened in Layton. No more driving to Bountiful! There is also a DSW shoe store that is very fun. My poor family tagged along for all my shopping adventure. They probably wanted to see if they could score an item or two for themselves. The sad thing is that when I shop it is almost always for them. We had a busy day and then Sunday we had to turn the clocks ahead so now it is Monday.

almost there

I feel like we are almost there. Almost out of the sickness days that have been so much fun. Callie had RSV, and we had to avoid everyone and stay home. That is hard when you have two other kids who want friends over. Then just when we were in the clear, Codie gets a whopper of a virus. Sometimes I wonder if "virus" really means "I don't want to figure out what you have so go home and treat yourself". I really don't think that but it seems like you take your kids in to be on the safe side and it is a virus. But if you take them in after weeks of trying to get over a virus then it is something bad and the nurses look at you like you are the worst parent. I will just be better when it gets past scary sick season.
Tonight was a good night, my mom watched Carson and Callie while I went to enrichment night. She gets a kick out of my kids. And Callie is having a great time standing next to things (to hang on to) but she will scream because she can't figure out how to get back down. It goes by way too fast. Everyone says it. But it freaks me out.

My little Mud Boy