St.George

We are off to St. George for the weekend! We have been trying to go since the beginning of September, and the time has finally arrived. (Sorry you missed your NFL trip Ty, better luck sneaking around next time, he he he).

The part I am most excited about is driving down with our good friends the Whites and our combined total of 6 kids! Somehow Cam scored a Sprinter van that seats 10. Perfect!

Tyler and Paige plus eight! Pictures to come...

Tyler came to me this morning after trying to turn on a show for Sydney and in a cracked voice said, "Do you know why the TV isn't working?"

My initial thought was, just trying pushing the power button, honey. If any of you have a husband like mine, their first instinct when something seems broken or appears to be lost (wallet, keys, cell phone) is to immediately ask the wife without troubleshooting on their own first. WHY??? Because we have all the answers, and, it's just plain easier to ask the wife than take 5 minutes to figure it out solo.

Anyways, that was just a random tangent. Back to the TV. I asked Tyler all the appropriate questions, starting with "What do you mean?" When he explained further, he had done some troubleshooting on his own, to which I give him credit!!! Come to find out, the Direct TV box won't turn on, on either TV. Uh Oh! This is very bad news for those in this household who are addicted to TV, and they shall remain nameless.

I quickly had a great idea, since I'm tired of the non-stop TV watching. I asked Tyler,
"Why don't we have a week of no TV?"

After the shock wore off of his face, his answer was, "Why would we do that?"

Because, I thought to myself, I'm not calling Direct TV to have them come fix it!

Marathon Day

Today has been the never-ending day. It actually started last night when I was trying to get myself and kids' things ready for today's activities. So here goes:

• 6 a.m. Nash wakes up for feeding time/grouchy time...I must say, this is usually the only time he's a little fussy for whatever reason.
• 7:30 - I'm off to work...(I have the best job ever, next to being a mom!)
  
• 7:30 - 9:45 Tyler plays Mr. Mom--feeds Nash baby mush, gets kids dressed and takes Sydney to preschool (we've had some issues with Sydney going to school looking like W.T.--complete with a rat's nest in the back of her head. All I ask is for him to wet it down and comb it, but I can't have EVERYTHING, I guess).
  
• 9:45 - Our wonderful babysitter, Celeste, arrives. Tyler is off to work.
  
• Skip ahead to 4:00...I leave work and head to Erin's brother's wedding. Celeste brings the kids to Tyler dressed in their wedding apparel, Tyler brings kids and meets me at the wedding.
  
• 5:00 - mingle at the wedding until...
  
• 6:30 - wardrobe changes. Dress-down. Time to go to JCW's to meet the Marshall's, Lawson's, and Barrett's for dinner.
• 7:30 - delicious burger and fries down the hatch. Head to Cornbelly's.
  
• 7:35 made Tyler go and get my camera out of the car for the love of the BLOG only to find out the batteries were dead! So sad. Even though I have no pictures to PROVE IT, we had a great time with our friends, and the kids had a BLAST! A big thank you to all those who made this year's Cornbelly's adventure a success.
  
• 9:30 - leave Cornbelly's and pick up Tyler's car...Tyler goes to play jamball at a friend's house...CrAZy!
  
• 10:30 - I'm off to bed...but apparently, I'm not really ready for this day to end because I can't sleep.

I tried counting sheep. Any other ideas?

Yao is almost 7 months!

I took Nash to the Doctor yesterday for his 6 month check-up...more like 7 months, but I'm just happy I got him there at all!

Baby Nash's stats are in:

Weight: 18.65.......54.9%ile (see he's not as chubby as you think)
Length: 29.5"........99%ile (He dropped a little in the percentile rank, so we'll have to go back to the stretching machine).

Overall, Nash is one healthy little guy. He is still very happy and easy going. We love having him in our family!

Happy Birthday to Trace!

Today, "Baby Trace" as we used to call him, turned 5 years-old! I have to say that Trace has been a wonderful child to have as our first. Here are some words that I would use to describe him:

• Courteous
  
• Friendly
  
• Helpful

(He's pretty much got the Boy Scout motto down)

• Daring (when it comes to the important things like roller coasters!)
  
• Cautious
  
• Curious
  
• Cooperative
• Slightly Stubborn
• Humorous
  
• A Great big Brother
• Smart
  

We got him a bike for his birthday...I guess we're a little slow in this department since some kids his age are already riding without training wheels. But, I figured he couldn't even pedal the tricycle so why waste money on a bike? I know why now...he loves it and HE CAN RIDE IT! He's been riding it all day. I'm not sure how many times he told me thank you for the bike! What a good kid.

After the big unveiling of the bike, we took him out to breakfast. Cracker Barrel was not exactly his first choice, but we think he enjoyed it anyway!

Caution: This birthday blog is getting long, but the rest of it is merely for our pure enjoyment when Trace is older. Stop reading here if you have any kind of life or something else interesting to do. Seriously. Get a life.

Okay, this poster is what his preschool teacher sent home for him to fill out and color. He could NOT wait to get to work on it when he got home. He is so proud of it and every few minutes wants to know where it is so we don't lose it for his school party on Tuesday.

Now, to the left, we have an artist's rendering of the cake that I was supposed to make. I'm not sure why there is a window of white frosting on it, but the real deal turned out to be all white anyway. He insisted on helping me frost it, so he won't be shocked when he sees a snow storm instead of a chocolate sea. I told him I'd decorate it tonight while he was in bed. So, as you can tell in the picture on the right, there is a delicious chocolate cake with butter cream frosting (it's weird that we have the same favorite cake) and... my interpretation...of his drawing. Thought I'd spice it up a little. I realize it's a little ghetto-fabulous, but it was made with love.

Payson has it All!!

Today, we went to Payson Canyon, specifically Maple Lake, to have a picnic. It was a good time had by all.

On the way home in the car, Trace and Sydney reported their favorite parts:
Trace's was going across the one-foot wide stream (very daring and treacherous as evidenced by the picture),

Syd's favorite part was walking across the bridge. (The bridge picture here depicts Sydney's enjoyment...her excitement is just underwhelming!!! )

Trace insisted that Tyler and I let our favorite parts be known:
Tyler's was the cookies, and my favorite part was spending time with the family without cell phones or tv--truly a miracle!

School Days!

Last Thursday was Trace and Sydney's first day of Preschool. Trace is enjoying it, and even though Sydney was soooo excited to start school, she informed me this morning that she was "tired of it already."

Lovely.

She's got a long 15 years ahead of her!

Yesterday, Trace made the most profound, observant comment about his darling little sister, so I have to post it before I forget. He said, and I quote:

All Sydney does is waste food, watch TV, and suck her thumb!

I would have to agree with this statement, and probably add a few more things, but I won't.

About to Lose It!

Sydney has always known how to turn on the charm, and lately, she's really been workin' it. She has discovered how to NOT get in as much trouble with me when I'm about to lose it.

For example, let's say Sydney has just spilled her drink, again, or "accidentally" peed on the floor, again, or pulled out ALL the dental floss, again, or asked me for the 50th time to watch a show, and she knows I'm about to lose it, she'll quickly with an upbeat voice say,

"You're the BEST Mom EVER!"
or
"I love you the best, Mom!"

And, sometimes if she's running out of time, she'll repeat both over and over again.

I just can't help but NOT lose it.

Indoor Summer Fun!

Tyler is such a good daddy, and here is one of his many made-up games that the kiddos love to play. All you need for this activity is a couch, a strong leg, and some willing participants. Roll the tape!

(P.S. The very end is my favorite)