The Best Birthday Ever

The good news:  My husband is the most wonderful guy in the world.  Sorry, married ladies, but it's true.  And he's an amazing gift giver to boot.
The bad news:  He makes it awfully hard to match.

For my birthday, Marcus gave me a huge surprise:  he flew my sister Laura in from Virginia Beach for the weekend!

I haven't seen her in over 3 years, and I probably won't see her again for at least that long, as she is moving to Korea in the fall.

Marcus told me he had to work for a few hours on Friday (his normal day off).  I took my kids to the splash pad while he "worked", and when I got home, my doorbell rang.  Marcus told me he sent me an early birthday present, so I opened the door expecting flowers or something.  But instead, there stood my sister!  It was so cool!
On Saturday, my birthday, we went to the grocery store and Deseret Book while Marcus golfed in the morning.  We opened presents and had cake in the afternoon.

That evening, she watched the kids so Marcus and I could go out on an actual date!  We went and had tepanyaki at Ah-So, then saw Robin Hood at the theater.  It was a great night out.
On Sunday, we didn't have church due to the Gila Valley Temple dedication, so we drove down to Tempe Town Lake and let the kids play at the splash pad.

Monday was Girl's Day.  Marcus took off work to stay with the kids so we could enjoy a day together.  We went shopping at H&M and Fashion Square in Scottsdale, ate lunch at PF Chang's, got massages at Elements in Glendale, then finished up with a dinner at Olive Garden with some friends from church.

We had a wonderful time, and my kids loved playing with their Aunt Laura.  Drew has been crying all morning and I'm sure it's because he misses her :)

Thanks Marcus, for a wonderful present.  And thanks to Dan, Laura's husband, for helping this weekend be possible.  I love you all!

I Told You Kyle Was a Ham

Father and Sons

Last weekend was our ward Father and Sons camp-out.  Kyle is finally old enough to go, so Marcus took him up to Bartlett Lake and had a blast.  Kyle especially enjoyed playing in the water

Riding on the Wave Runners

and throwing up a stomach full of orange drink (not pictured).

Everyone survived and made it home with just a little sunburn.

And a tough-guy goatee.

The Games We Play

As I celebrate birthdays and prepare for the next phase of life (being a mom of school-aged children), I am trying to treasure the simplicity and innocence of my little ones. I have to admit, sometimes playing games and eating imaginary meals cooked by them gets old. Yet when I think of how quickly they will lose interest in hanging out with Mom, I can smile over the millionth playing of Candyland.

I'm sure mine aren't the only kids that tell you exactly where they will be hiding when you play Hide and Seek. I love that they laugh as you look for them and peek out at you until you "finally" find them.

I love how Emma plays I Spy. She says things like "I spy something orange that's a basketball." Or "I spy something blue and I'm wearing it. It's my shirt."

I love that Kyle is amazingly silly. For no reason at all, he will decide he wants to walk everywhere backwards- or he will only travel on hands and knees with his head scraping the ground. He will make silly sounds, make up silly words, and once he has your reaction, you will see him repeat it a dozen times. I think he's destined to be a class clown.

I love Emma's silly wiggle dance.

I love that Emma still thinks she's a comedienne, even though she's not even close to telling a joke- ("Get it? Cheese? Get it?")

And most of all, I love that they are creative. They are imaginative in their play, as all young children are. When I happen upon something like this,

I wonder what in the world they were pretending. I hope that creativity never goes away as they grow older and life changes. I worry that it will be snuffed out of them, or that I will unintentionally snuff it out in the name of "being good" or "playing quietly while Drew sleeps". I am trying to relax a little more, have more fun, and just enjoy what special treat they "cook" up for me today.

7 Months

Drew is seven months old today. Things have changed a lot this month:

Drew sleeps through the night consistently. He gets up early (6 AM or earlier), but it's SO MUCH BETTER than it was before. We FINALLY moved him into his crib for good, and he sleeps great in there.

Drew eats solids. He eats everything I give him, and would probably keep eating if I didn't stop him. He's a good-sized boy.

Drew sits up unassisted, plays with "real" toys, rolls all over the room, and pulls himself around a little bit- mostly in a circle.

Drew still has his grumpy days, and occasionally his naps are still unpredictable, but overall he is happy, fun to observe, and content to explore the world around him. I love that he wants me to hold him and that he always searches the room to find me, even when someone else is holding him. For all the frustration I've had these early months, he is a sweetie and I love him so much!

And I know I am extremely biased, but this kid is just adorable.

Check out these eyelashes!

Happy 7 Months Drew!

Fishing

This weekend was our ward camp out at Bartlett Lake. We didn't go overnight, mainly because I didn't want to subject our ward to the angry cries Drew was certain to make if he was forced to sleep somewhere other than a nice warm room. He's grumpy like that.

So, instead, Marcus took Kyle and Emma up to the lake early Saturday morning. I stayed home with Drew, got a lot of laundry and cleaning done, and spent an hour walking blissfully around Hobby Lobby without having to worry about children breaking things or throwing fits.

A friend of ours from the bishopric has a boat, so Marcus and the kids got to go fishing with him on the boat. I hear the morning started with Marcus being dumped over the side of the boat into the lake while trying to untangle his line from a bush near the shore. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of that!

The kids have their own fishing rods- but we just tie floaters on and let them cast into the water. I think Emma would do it all day if you let her.

Kyle touched the fish. Marcus said Emma wouldn't do it.

Both kids love to "drive the boat"- just like at Grandpa's house.

It was a little chilly out there this weekend.

Thanks, Don, for the fun time!