Summer Family Fun in Oregon

For CRYING out loud

I love to cry while watching movies. I mean I love a good cry anytime actually, but especially while watching movies. Now don't get me wrong, I don't give up the tears that easily during movies, I have to really be feeling it, ya know? So, here are my top three. Bring on the cryfest!

Not only is this my all time favorite cryfest movie, this might be my favorite movie in general. I LOVE this movie. The scene at the end where he is dancing with the girl? Oh, forget it. I am a goner every time. And I am not talking about the silent tear rolling down the cheek, no, this is full out sobbing. It feels sooo good.

This has always been one of my all-time favorites. Cryfest for sure. This movie was made in the late 80s so... whatever it is still totally awesome.

Ok, seriously this movie has it all. It is just downright classic, and a cryfest. LOVE IT!

Randomness

No matter how much I clean my house, you will always find toys in random places all over my house. Here are some examples: Rolling pin in the backyard. And... a popsicle stick which I only saw after I posted this.

A sword and dinosaur in the guest bedroom. And... a weird circle spot which I only saw after I posted this.

A football in the dining room. And.. a mysterious smudge on the chair which I only saw after I posted this.

Some spider-man web toy in the master bathroom. And... an army guy which I only saw after I posted this shot!

Even though this can be frustrating always having toys scattered around, I really love the random toys in my house. Mostly because I love watching the boys discover these toys. They will just be walking around and then what? A rolling pin? That is just what I need right now! Sometimes I think I should just plant some random toys around my house. It's kind of like when you find that random piece of candy in your purse. You have no idea why you didn't eat it when you got it because you shove everything in your face when it is given to you, but you know this moment was meant to be because you were dying for a piece of candy. I think I will really miss those random toys someday, and so mostly I just let them be and watch the treasure hunt unfold.

Boxing Time

Today I am encouraging my children to knock eachother out. Punch harder! Take him down! After the big fight I sent the two older ones to boxing training class because their punches were just not up to par. We'll see how they do after the training. Maybe they will get dinner.

Food Storage Items of the Week

Has anybody else been stressing about food storage lately? Of course you have!!! I mean, just turn on the news and you will run to the store as fast as you can. Since we moved a year ago our food storage was VERY depleted. Spencer's kindergarten class loved me last year because I donated 6 months worth of can goods to his food drive. Was that the best plan? Maybe not. I probably should have just boxed it up for this house. Oh well. So, the last couple of months we have been working to build it up again. We did a couple of big Costco trips, but the bottom line is we are going to have to build it up slowly. So, I have been focusing on buying a couple of food storage items each week at the grocery store. Maybe I will share my ideas with you, and you can share yours. Or maybe I won't if you think this is a dumb post. We'll see... I bought a couple of each of these items this week.

My 2nd biggest fear

A few years ago I came out of a grocery store with my two little ones in the cart and lots of groceries. I was heading toward my car in the middle of the street when a bee approached me. I pushed the cart out into the middle of the road and started running and doing the crazy arm flapping dance. The cart really took off since it was pretty loaded down. I saw this happening, but I couldn't do anything because there was a bee buzzing around my face! This is when I realized I have a real problem. I had always assumed when I became a Mom I would do anything to protect them, but I guess not. When it comes to bees, it is every man for himself (ok, and when it comes to the dentist). I felt horrible after this incident and vowed never to do that again. But, the fear has taken over. Since that incident several times while pushing my kids in the stroller for a nice walk a bee has approached me. What have I done? That's right, pushed the stroller and ran down the road like a mad woman. I totally abandon my children for a bee. This is a crazy, senseless fear. Or is it? I mean they do have stingers, and some people can actually die from a bee sting. And sometimes they come out of nowhere and attack, am I right Karen? Also, there are A LOT of bees around my house. Well, actually they are wasps, but all the same to me. If you are judging me, you just don't understand. Coming soon, my number one fear...

Goodbye corndog, Hello salad!

I am soooo over my hunt for a good corndog. What was I thinking? Those things are nasty. This is my new food obsession. The sweet pork salad at Costa Vida. OH MY! You just cannot believe how much I love this salad. The sweet pork is so amazing! If you have a Costa Vida in your town you must go immediately. I think this picture is actually of the chicken salad there, but get the pork, you won't be sorry. My food blog has the link for Costa Vida. Just DO IT!!

I'm Thirty, you got that?

I LOVE being 30. I can finally tell people, I am thirty and I have 3 kids so don't even mess, ok? You might be surprised how often I have to say this in my head because I get comments like these two examples all the time. This first one happened a couple of months ago at my son's 7th birthday party. A Mom from the neighborhood was dropping off her son for the party. I had never met her before because the kid was a friend from his school class. I made sure to meet her at the door so she could feel a little more comfortable dropping her son off at a stranger's house. I don't think I gave her that impression, and this is why. Halfway into the conversation I mentioned how much I enjoyed working with her son in class when I volunteered. She then looked at me in shock, and said are you Spencer's mom? I thought you were his sister and I was waiting for your mom to come to the door. Hmmm, akward.... Next, a couple of years ago I went to visit a lady in our neighborhood in Utah. I think I was taking her an invitation for a church party. She was not active in our ward at the time, and I had never met her before. They sent me over because we were about the same age with kids the same age. I walked over with my kids in the stroller, and parked them on the driveway while I went up to the door. She answered the door, and I introduced myself and told her why I was there. We made some small talk, and then one of her kids came to the door and did something funny. I commented how that is just like my son. She looked at me in shock and said, you are a mom? I thought you were selling cookies or something for school. What.... awkward. This happens to me ALL the time. Its not just that people think I look a couple years younger than my age, they think I am in high school! What is up with that? I know my sisters have the same problem, so maybe it is in the genes. I guess I should be flattered, but really I am over it already. I have earned my 30 years!

Isn't life fun?

All three of our boys have found this drawer irresistable. Go Matthew!

Another ice cream thought

What is up with this ice cream? You see what it says on there? No Sugar Added. What??? Why??? What is the point? It tastes really creamy and fatty, but completely bland and almost tasteless. I was even eating it with Nestle quick chocolate mix in it because I never eat just plain vanilla (I am just not a vanilla girl, you know what I mean?) and it still tasted awful! Of course I just kept eating the whole bowl trying to figure out what was wrong with this ice cream. Then I had to get the carton back out and there it was, no sugar added. What a joke! Maybe this serves some purpose out there, but really if you are that desperate to cut sugar from your diet you shouldn't be eating ice cream either. Right? Whatever!

The Summer Buzz

Anyone need a buzz cut? Come on over!

Oh, I get it now

My family had six kids growing up, and I was second oldest. I have lots of memories of when my parents had my younger sister and brother because I was 10 and 14. I remember being embarrassed by some of the baby equipment they were still using for them. I especially remember the old falling apart carseat that was peeling everywhere and the old cribs that seemed to be a disaster waiting to happen. Well, this is the state of my baby equipment that my third boy is dealing with....

What can I say? Almost everything we own is broken or damaged. They just grow out of everything so fast, and I can't keep up. These boxes are holding up the crib because we lost the screws that hold it together in one of our moves. That carseat, well it speaks for itself. Do I care? NO! I am totally over it. Obviously. My sister Sally knows my new favorite motto to live by: Whatever, who cares!

First Hot Day

Notice how Matthew has the wet hair. Sam and Spencer were kind of tiptoeing around the pool because the water was cold! Matthew just kept diving in and swimming all around. This was his own private swimming pool and he loved it.

My "oldest" child

Almost every day you can hear me say, Boys get in the car please. Sometimes they do, sometimes they need a lot more "prompting" than that. Lately, this is where I find Matthew after my request. In the front seat, just waiting to head out. The other two boys will be back in their car seats, but Matthew takes the front every time. He even has his seatbelt on sometimes!

Oh, just in case anyone was thinking of reporting me, I do move him back to his carseat before we leave, in tears most of the time.

Oh, Sammy

Happy Birthday to my Sammy! This kid just blows my mind with his comments. I am either laughing really hard, scared for where that came from, or really impressed. Here is the latest:

Sam: I want to tell you something about nothing.

Me: You want to tell me something about nothing? Ok, lets hear it.

Sam: Look inside my hand. What do you see? (holding out his hand..)

Me: Nothing

Sam: Thats right. Nothing.

Sam: Nothing is just nothing.

BRILLIANT, seriously brilliant.

Sam is truly the peacemaker in our home. He adores both of his brothers and can't help giving in to either of them at all times. He is in our backyard almost all day long. Sam has the greatest imagination. He loves to help me in the kitchen. He loves to go camping with his Dad. He is the greatest kid!

Sam's Party

We decided to party like Rock Stars and rent a Bounce House for Sam's 5th birthday party. It was a BLAST!!!! It was such a great day, and I just want to rent this at least once a month.

Wow, Summer is sooooo Fun...

This is what it has looked like at our house since school got out on Wednesday. Don't they look thrilled for all the fun activities I have planned? Oh wait, I didn't plan anything yet. That explains all the boredom. Better luck next week!

It's a Shoe Thing

On Friday night we went to a Bishopric party, a small group of some friends from our church. We played a version of the newlywed game. Jeremy and I looked at each other with knowing, confident smiles. We were the champs at a Harvard Law School couples party when we had been married for two years. I mean seriously, we rocked. Well, not this time. This is just one of the questions that threw us off. The question was asked to the men, how many shoes do you think your wife has? Yes, finally I knew we would get this one. He knows how much I love shoes! Wrong!! His answer was 6. I said 15, knowing I probably had at least 20. He then proceeded to tease me because how could anyone have more than 6 shoes when they only have two feet?

Here are Jeremy's shoes. Current count is... 15.

Here are my shoes. Current count is... 28. This is actually a pretty sad collection of shoes. I think at least half of them are completely OUT. Oh well. I do really enjoy a good shoe.

What's in your Cart?

I LOVE to see what other people have in their shopping carts. I think it is fascinating to see what other people buy. Sometime I just want to go wander the grocery store and examine what people have in their carts. So many times when I am at the store I see people with things, and I just want to say, "What are you going to do with that? How do you eat that? Are you having a party? Can you teach me how to use that ingredient? Are all those Lean Cuisines really working? " Maybe there could be a reality show about this. I think I could be a really good host for that. Anybody have any connections out there? I always feel bad staring at other people's grocery carts. I try to be kind of discreet, but really I am dying to ask them about everything they are buying. Maybe I need to be a grocery store checkout girl. I would be just like that Saturday Night Live skit with the really annoying checkout worker at Target. Every time someone comes through her line she says, "Oooh, where did you get that? Was it on sale?" Then she runs off to go find it in the store and leaves the customer hanging at the checkout. That would be me.

My Celebrity Loves

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Christian Bale, I love you. My crush began when I saw him in Newsies about 11 years ago and has been going strong ever since. And here is a quote from my celebrity hunk.

"I think trying to hard to be sexy is the wrost thing in the world a woman can do. What I love about my wife is that she's a really strong-minded, stubborn, fiery woman. I find that sexier than anything else."

Wow, was he talking about me? I mean, I rarely try too hard to be sexy, and stubborn, strong-minded? Ok, we were made for each other.

Oh Gwyneth, what can I say? I can't remember a time when I was not in love with you. You are my favorite actress, and I adore you. I am no fair weathered fan, you are golden in every movie. Shallow Hal? Loved it. Jack Black and Gwyneth? My dream come true!

OK, this guy is just the funniest ever. I get the giggles just looking at him. His facial expressions are A-mazing. Jack Black, you have given me so much laughter and joy. Love ya!

Confession of a really old 30 year old

I really want to wear elastic waistband pants. Seriously, they look soooo good to me. I'm not talking about exercise pants, pajamas, or any other form of lounge wear. I am talking about the jeans and khakis that look kind of normal, and then you spot the elastic waistband. Sometimes I just walk by Sears and drool. Oh, the comfort, the flexibility. I tell people I get the Land's End catalog for the t-shirts and the sporty waterproof shoes, but really I am just waiting for the day when I can order the sweet elastic waistband pants.

My legacy

At least I know that after I am gone there will be more generations of ice cream eaters. We have already had a great weekend with Jeremy's Dad going to parks, walks, swimming pool, ice cream, restaurants. And that was all on Saturday. I can't wait to see what the rest of the weekend brings...

Ice Cream

I am an ice cream addict. I love the stuff, can never get enough. Ever. These are just two examples of some of my favorites. I choose what ice cream flavor I want based on the brand or the ice cream place. My motto with any food place is to go with what they do best. Here are some of my favorites.

Baskin Robbins - I have to list this one first because it is probably my all time favorite. I go crazy over the chocolate chip ice cream here. I never get any other flavor, because I just can't turn down an opportunity to get my favorite.

Cold Stone- Ok, I do change it up here because depending on my mood sometimes super chocolaty, and sometimes not. What can I say, everything is good here. Also, I have to give a serious honorable mention to the blue cotton candy ice cream. My kids always get it, and they have to pry it away. It really tastes like cotton candy, but creamier. Yum.

Ben & Jerry's - Jeremy and I planned an entire trip to Vermont to go visit their factory. We stopped in Sharon, Vermont, the birthplace of Joseph Smith on the way there. We didn't know it was on the way, but later we told people that was the reason we took the trip. We are ashamed. Anyway, New York Super Fudge Chunk the best flavor ever. We got this on our first date we had in Boston. It always brings back good memories, of when we were skinny, before we got addicted to Ben and Jerry's. Hmmm, those were the days.

Breyers - This is just great ice cream. Our favorite flavor is the Rocky Road. The nuts in there are amazing, and there are no big marshmallow chunks, just the hint of marshmallow. Amazing.

Tillamook - Loved the Brown Cow, then they changed it to something with udderly in the name. I don't know, it doesn't quite taste the same anymore. Still, very good.

Dreyer's - I love their mint chocolate chip. Mint can be a really tricky flavor, you don't want it too minty, and not too big of chocolate chunks. I think they get it just right.

I can't even remember all of the names of the little ice cream shops we have eaten at. Boston had some seriously good homemade ice cream. Christinas anyone? Also, some farm out in the middle of nowhere that served the biggest portions ever. It wasn't possible to eat it all before it melted in the humidity, but it was sure fun to try.

Words from Sam, laugh or cry?

Yesterday, standing in front of his two year old
brother with a sword says, "Prepare to Die."

Last night, kneeling down to say his bedtime prayer,
turns to me and says, "Well, here goes nothing!"

my pig had no ears

I just remembered this little moment, and thought I would share. Jeremy and I were in a marriage and family relations sunday school class a couple of years ago. Our teacher started the lesson by handing everyone a blank sheet of white paper. He asked everyone to draw a pig on their paper, and that was the only instruction he gave. After everybody did that, he then went on to explain what our drawings meant. Here are the two things I remember from that day. First of all he explained that if your pig was drawn at the top of the page that means you are an optimist. If your pig was drawn in the middle of the page that means you are a realist. If your pig was drawn at the bottom of the page that means that you are a pessimist. My little pig was drawn as far down on the paper as it could go. Hmmmm, I knew this class was going to be bad anyway. Then the teacher told us to look at the ears we drew on our pigs. The size of the ears would tell how good we are at listening. The bigger ears, the better listener. Well, my pig had no ears. Did you hear me? My pig had NO EARS!

Time to make a decision...

I think that there needs to be a parenting book about making decisions. I have realized that this is one of my biggest responsibilities as a Mom, making decisions. And to be honest, I am really bad at making decisions. I second guess almost everything I do, I have lots of regrets, I return almost half of everything I buy, I just can't make up my mind! You would think after so many years of practice, I would be getting better at making decisions. Just make a decision, and move forward, don't look back. No, I seem to be getting worse! Ok, here are some examples. Should my kids take swim lessons or not? I mean, they are really good at swimming, but they don't really know the official strokes. Should they know these at 7 and 5? And if they take them, where, and private or not? What summer camps should they be involved in, how many hours, how many days? How many camping trips should we take this summer? Where should we go camping, should we use the old tent or buy a new one? How many pairs of shorts should I buy for Spencer this summer? How much tv should my kids watch? Can they watch more if it is "educational?" What in the world do I do with these kids all day long? Am I supposed to be playing with them all the time? What do I make for dinner tonight? Should I drive further to the cheaper grocery store of just go to the more expensive close one? Do I have to go to enrichment when I really have no interest in the activity? Can I go to the mall instead? Should I tell Jeremy I am going to the mall instead of enrichment, or just go? Can I ask a friend who is also in the ward to come to the mall with me? Is that wrong? Do I have to use those awful fluorescent money saving light bulbs? What am I supposed to wear today? Is it bad to keep eating white rice when I know the brown is better for me? And, I have not even mentioned the big decisions about where to live, what schools, jobs, having kids, all that good stuff. Good luck out there, I am already second guessing this post.

Highlights of the Week

Being present at the birth of my sister's fourth baby. Congratulations Katie and Chris!! I can't describe how amazing and spiritual it was to be their for her first breath into this life. It was so different being able to watch than when you are the one pushing the baby out. It was just so beautiful and I loved it! Thanks for giving me this opportunity.

Our friends Brian and Wendy came to visit us for one night on their way through to Seattle. What a treat! It was so fun to see their 4 cute girls, and catch up again. The four of us were best buds hanging out back at good old Liberty Square at BYU. What an amazing summer, and then we fell in love, and then they fell in love, and then we got married, and then they got married, crazy! Love you guys, thanks for the visit.

I am loving the cute mother's day gifts coming home from school and primary from the boys.

Highlight to come, Jeremy and I are going to see Iron Man this weekend. Gwyneth Paltrow and Super Heroes, the perfect combination for us. Can't wait!

Coldplay is coming out with a new album in June. They realeased a single from the album,Viva la Vida, and it is delicious to my ears.

Getting to hang out with my Mom while the boys played with their cousins. So much fun, and then pizza to top of the day. Fabulous!

Goodbye Granite

I think I might be the only one in the world, but I DO NOT like granite counter tops. Yes, they are pretty, and they really do make any kitchen look modern and shiny. When we were looking for houses I immediately walked out of any house that did not have them because the house just looked "old." All of that being said, I can't stand my granite counter tops. The camouflage look hides everything, which I guess is supposed to be good. But, really that means my counters are always dirty. They might look fine until you touch them, and then you are like,"What is all this gunk all over this counter that looks perfectly clean?" I feel like Helen Keller as I clean my granite because I basically have to close my eyes and slowly feel with my left hand for gunk, and then wipe with my right hand. Then after all the blind scrubbing I have to use a special granite cleaning spray (there is a good one at Target) to get it back to a pretty shine. And, as soon as my kids eat on it I have to wipe it up, and then it is not shiny 5 minutes after I used the special shine spray. It just feels like a losing battle all day long. I really miss my formica. I went to a new house focus group a couple of months ago. They wanted to know what kind of counters people liked in their homes. I decided this would be my chance to share my views, and I was sure there would be some other granite sufferers out there too. Nope, they all looked at me like I was crazy. So, I know I am alone in this, but I just had to share my dirty little secret, seriously they are always dirty.

Updates

Spencer is getting new piano books next week. He started in January and he is moving on to Level 2! Also, the past two weeks he has started practicing on his own without me having to sit with him. Sooo exciting! He will be playing in his second recital in June, the Star Wars theme song. I love that! His teacher is so wonderful, positive, kind, and really great with Spencer. Every lesson I get a shining report, and it is has been such a great activity for him.

I already told some of you, but we are excited for Jeremy to be trying something new too. He is going to be teaching a Real Estate Law class for undergraduates at Boise State University in the Fall. This will be a night class once a week. I think I will have to come sit in on a class for sure. Although, I skipped A LOT of my night classes, so good luck Jeremy!

Sam is finally getting excited about preschool. He asks me every day, can I go today? He talks about his friends there constantly, and I think they have some serious games going on at recess. I am also pretty sure he has imaginary friend(s). He leads them around the house, opens doors for them, and always talks to them. I guess this is a good thing at this age? I don't know, but it is kind of cute.

Matthew is definitely two. Today it was a costco size bag of goldfish spilled and stomped on. Hmmm, maybe I should stop buying costco size bags of snacks. They are very tempting I guess. Yesterday he squirted a whole tube of toothpaste all over the bathtub. It could have been much worse I guess. Matthew got his own Wii controller for his birthday. He is always crying and getting upset when the boys play because he likes to "play" too. The look on his face was priceless when he opened it up. Even though all three controllers look the same, he knows which one is his, and is not giving it up.

And, what am I doing? I finally finished printing the last batch of digital pictures for our photo album. I have been working on getting all the digital picutres that we have taken for the last 6 or 7 years printed out so they can actually be seen. Also, I am getting ready for our cooking group this month at my house. After doing Thai one month and Greek the next, we are going to do really easy summer recipes. I think I am going to do three recipes that are super easy and really delicious. Hopefully this will take care of that genre, because I would like to get back to the gourmet stuff.