Memorial Day Weekend

We had a fun filled busy weekend. We decided to forgo yard work on Saturday and do fun stuff instead. We started out the day yard saleing in Sandy. Our best find was a little picnic bench for the kids for $3. While we were driving around Sandy we noticed the Rocky Mouth trail head set right in the middle of this fancy neighborhood. Later in the day we decided to go hiking with Jason and Erika. Randy looked up some information on the trail and it said that it is a short hike up to a waterfall, and good for children. So we decided to try it out. It was short, and it was beautiful, but when they said it was good for children, they didn't mean 3 year olds. We struggled a bit with Nathan and Alayna. It was just really rocky and steep. But still it was fun, and we went out for ice cream after which made it even better.

In front of the waterfall, I think I look way more pregnant than I really am

On Sunday afternoon we went down to Gunnison, UT to visit Randy's favorite mission compainon Cody and his family. He and his wife Nona have three kids about the same ages as our kids. They had so much fun together. I love how kids can make friends instantly. We had a fun little trip experiencing small town life. While we were there we did several things you would never do in Salt Lake. We took a drive in the mountains near their home. This is something that we do frequently, but the difference was all 10 of us rode in their Subruban and no one wore seat belts, apparantly they are optional in Gunnison. I usually feel guilty driving in my own neighborhood with my kids unbuckled. It made me nervous, but it was still a fun drive. Apparantly obeying traffic laws are optional as well. I guess when you rarely meet another car it is okay. We saw first hand that when you live in a small town you have to find different ways to amuse youself. Cody is currently waging war against the towns gopher population, which appears to be larger than the human population. He enjoys driving around with his shot gun, stopping by the side of the road, aiming out his window, and shoting gophers. He has a pretty good aim, we witnessed him shoot at least 10 gophers. His 6 year old son also enjoys this past time, but he uses a pelet gun. We also got to visit Cody's family's dairy farm. They have about 600 cows that they milk. We got to play with some week old calfs, although my kids were terrified of them. I had a hard time getting them to even get close enough to take a picture. We got to see some cows being milked. But my kids favorite part was riding on the 4 wheelers and tractors. It was just a short overnight trip, but we had a lot of fun.

Don't they look scared, like the cows are going to break free and get them

As soon as we got home we had to get ready to host a Memorial Day/3rd Birthday Party for Nathan at our house. Our party was a lot of fun. Even with just our brothers and sisters families it was a lot of people. Luckily the weather was nice and the kids were able to play and eat outside. Nathan was so excited. I made him a "Gummy Wormy" cake, which he loved, and he got some nice presents from his cousins. The favorite present was a pack of water balloons from Uncle Jason that were quickly opened and filled. The kids had a great time with those, but they really got soaked when Randy turned the sprinklers on them :)

What I have been up to lately

I feel like a blog slacker, I haven't written or read anything for a while. I have had an incredibly busy and exhausting six weeks or so. Let me fill you in on what we have been doing.

• April was my month to teach preschool. This took up most of my time. For four weeks on Tuesday and Thursday for 2 1/2 hrs I had our little preschool class here. We talked about all things spring. We did some fun Easter activities, learned about how rainbows are made, learned about flowers and plants, took a field trip to the Home Depot garden center to look at flowers, and learned about insects. Basically, all my free time was spent planning lessons. I really enjoy teaching preschool, especially because it is free, but I am really glad that I am done, for this year at least, I will have preschoolers for many, many years to come.
• Jacob started playing Rookie Baseball. His team this year is the Muck Dogs. He has an awesome coach, his uncle Jason, and assistant coach, his dad, and team mom, me. His best friend and cousin Isaac is on his team, as well as some of the little boys in our neighborhood. We play two games a week on Tuesday and Thursday. They use a pitching machine, I think Jacob has yet to hit a ball, but his swing is improving. I don't know if there is term for the way he bats, but it is like the worst air ball you have ever seen, he is so far off. Baseball isn't really his sport, he seems to enjoy it.
  
• My brother, Aaron, graduated from BYU. My mom was here for a week. She split her time between here and Provo. It was fun to spend some time with her. It was also a lot of fun to spend a couple of days down at BYU. I love BYU, I have so many good memories of my time there. I am always happy when I get to go back.
  
• We went on a preschool field trip to Wheeler Farm (another mom was in charge of this one). The weather was perfect, we had a little picnic, fed the ducks (who actually seemed like they had already had their fill of stale white bread by the time we got there), and looked at the cute animals. There was an especially vocal lamb that provided lots of entertainment, I wish I had my camera!
  
• I got my carpet cleaned. It desperatly needed it. What I want to know is why does it take so long for my carpet to dry? Every time I have it cleaned they tell me it will only take an hour to dry, but it takes ALL day. I even open the windows and turn on fans, what is the deal. So we spent some time with cousins, and some time at Target. We also went to KFC to use our free meal coupons, which they didn't honor! We ate there anyway because by that time I was too tired and hungry to do anything else.
• I got my kids pictures taken. I tried to pick a time when I thought everyone would be happy, after naps. But Nathan cried the whole way there. I had to bribe him with ice cream if he was good and smiled nicely. That worked well for the older two and we got some cute pictures. But, Adam was completly uncooperative. He didn't want to let go of me, it took a lot of coaxing to get him to sit with his brothers. We did get some passable group shots, and one fairly cute picture of him by himself. He does have drool on his sweater, but what are you going to do? That is life. I should get the pictures next week, so stay tuned to see them on my side bar.
• Randy's Grandma Wardle passed away. Her funeral was on Friday. It was a good funeral, not very sad, and very comforting. She was old, and had dementia, she got sick and died fairly suddenly, so she did not suffer for very long. The sadest part is she left behind her husband of 62 years. They were each others constant companion, they could often be found sitting next to each other holding hands with their heads close together, they were very much in love. I am not sure what Grandpa is going to do without her. He is also very old and has dementia, he may follow her soon. Times like these make me glad for the knowledge we have of eternal families and life after death. It was nice to see all of the Wardle family. We don't all get together ever often, especiall now that everyone has multiple childre, it is hard enough to get together with just Randy's siblings and all of their kids. We have an excellent family, I am very glad to be a part of it.
  
• We went camping right after the funeral. I know, I am crazy. But, I am the mother of boys, I better get used to it. Randy was supposed to go with the scouts, but their trip was canceled, so I agreed to go as a family. He made it really easy for me, he got everything ready the night before and left me a list of things to finish while he was at work. We had fun, I love spending time with family. Our tin foil dinners did turn to charcol (good thing we had a late lunch at the funeral), and our boys did get extreemly dirty, but there is something nice about sitting around a campfire (which I started, by myself, 6 years of girls camp came in handy) and roasting marshmellows. And waking up in the cool fresh air is refreshing, especially after a good night sleep on an air mattress. We forgot to bring fule for the stove, so we didn't get to eat pancakes, good thing I had an emergency supply of granola bars in the van. We had to stop at McDonald's on the way home. Jacob told me several times how much fun he thinks camping is, so that made the whole trip worth it. And, Randy cleaned every thing up when we got home, including vacuuming out the van, and getting it washed. Thanks honey! I guess I will go camping again.
• Okay, I hope you are still reading because this is the best part (it is also the most exhausting part). We were pleasantly surprised to find out that I am pregnat again. I knew that I wanted to have one more baby and I had a really strong impression that I should stop taking the pill. So I did expecting, based on past experience, that it would take 5 months or so to get pregnant. But, it took six weeks. Just another example of how Heavenly Father has a different time table than we do. So, Adam and the baby are only going to be 20 months apart, which makes me nervous. And, I am due in December, which I really didn't want, but at least it is December 14th, so we will be home and settled by Christmas. We will just have to whole up for a few months to prevent RSV. We are planning on this being the last one, so it will be nice to have our whole family here and be done before I turn 30. And, we will get another child tax credit, so we should have another great tax return next year! I have not been as sick as I was with Adam, so that is good, but I have been extreemly tired. Hopefull I will be feeling better soon.
  

Sorry this was so long, I told you we have been busy.

Knock Knock Joke

My kids are obsessed with knock knocks jokes lately. They usually go like this "Knock Knock", "Who's there?", "Nathan", "Nathan who?", "Nathan... and then a string of nonsense words. I only know two knock knock jokes myself, so today I decided to look some up online to give my kids some actual jokes to tell. Jacob asked who came up with all these jokes and I said, "I don't know, some clever people." He asked me what clever means, and I told him it means smart. So he decided since he is a smart kid he should be able to come up with a knock knock joke to put on the internet. When he finally came up with one that made me laugh a little he said, "Mom will you put my joke on the computer, if you do I will be so happy with you." How could I say no? Good thing I have the perfect spot to put stuff like this. So, here is Jacob's original knock knock joke:

"Knock, Knock"
"Who's there?"
"Muddy"
"Muddy who?"
"Muddy, get me out of this mud"

Okay, I know it is not the funniest, it doesn't belong on a joke site, but he tried so hard, and he is only 5, and it is certainly much better than what I have been hearing for the past week, so I like it. And I really hope that Jacob will be happy with me the whole rest of the day now that I put his joke on the computer.

Adam Turns One

Adam's first birthday was yesterday. I can hardly believe it has been one year already. It has been a fast, busy, and mostly chaotic year. I have to say that having a third child was quiet an adjustment for me. It took me a long time to feel like I have things under control again. After I had Nathan it only took me about three months to feel back to normal. So after I had Adam I was okay with things being a little crazy for the first three months. But, it didn't get better after that. You see, I am a really organized person. I like having a plan. I like having a clean house. I like cooking delicious healthy meals for my family. But taking care of three little kids took so much time and energy that I didn't ever feel organized, I never had a plan for anything, my house was always messier that I like, and cooking, or rather grocery shopping, was just one more thing I didn't have time for. At six months I still felt out of control. I was trying to focus on my kids and trying not to feel bad about all the things that I was leaving undone. I tried a few different things to help keep me organized and on track, but nothing was working for me. When Adam was about nine months I heard someone on TV say that it takes nine months to get back to normal after having a baby. I thought, I am there, things will start getting better any day. That was in January. Well, at the end of January I was reading something on the internet that made mention of the Fly Lady. For those of you who haven't hear of the Fly Lady, she is "your personal online coach to help you gain control of your house and home". I had heard of the Fly Lady before, a long time ago when I still had control of my life and didn't need her. I need her now, I decided to check her out at www.flylady.net. She has made all the difference in my life. I now feel like have control again. My house is clean, my children and my husband are happy and well fed. Life is good again. Not that it hasn't been good this whole year with a sweet new baby, just chaotic. Anyway, enough about me, back to the birthday boy.

My sweet, little, blond haired, blue eyed baby boy is growing up. He is starting to toddle around, he is still not a good walker, but he will get to about the middle of the room before he falls. He is very proud of himself for this accomplishment. He is a stubborn little guy. He really puts up a fight when I want him to do something he doesn't want to do, like sleep. He has developed the very anoying habit of screaming when he wants something. If I don't put food in front of him fast enough I hear about it. He is also very happy. He is extremly ticklish, it is very easy to elicit squeals of happyness just from a few tickles. I haven't taken him in for his check up yet, but I am guessing he is in the 17 lb range, so he really is a little guy, but he is right in line with where his brothers were. We had a fun little party last night complety with cousins, cupcakes, and presents. Thanks to everone who came, we love you.

Me and my birthday boy in front of a sea of pretty cupcakes

Mmm...Chocolate. He doesn't look too messy here, you can't see his lap.

My Little Family is Growing Up

We have had a lot of exciting and new things happening in our family lately. Everyone is doing something new. I wrote about Jacob and his new bike riding skills in my last post. He continues to improve, not that he has been able to practice much lately with the spring blizzards we have been having this week. He has had fun playing in the snow though, winter is his favorite season.

Nathan is now potty trained, thanks to the "Potty Fairy". She has worked magic in our house. I was getting very frustrated with potty training before she stared to come. In fact, the day she arrived at our house I had decided I was done trying and had put Nathan back into a diaper. That morning Nathan peed on me, and then 30 min later peed on the couch. I was so mad! After I cooled off I remembered someone telling me about the potty fairy. I told Nathan that I had a friend named the Potty Fairy who might be able to help him learn to use the potty. With him next to me I called her (Randy) and asked her if she could come and leave a prize for Nathan when he uses the potty. She agreed to help. We have only had 3 accidents since then, it has been about 10 days. I don't know why, but a prize means a lot more when it comes from a magical, invisible, sneaky fairy than from me. The other thing I did was put the ball in his court. I stopped telling him when he had to go and let him tell me. To remind him I ask him if his pants are dry, and tell him to remember to keep his pants dry. I never ask if he has to go potty. My only problem now is how to stop using the potty fairy. I guess we will have to make another phone call.

Adam is getting so big. He took his first steps on Sunday afternoon while we were over at Grandma's house. It was very exciting. Randy and I have been working with him every evening since then, trying to get him to walk between us, but the most he has done is about four steps. Then last night Randy and the boys were playing on the floor and I was reading. All of the sudden here comes Adam walking into the middle of the room. I don't know if he walked all the way from where the furniture was, or if he stood up in the middle of the room and started walking, but either way it was amazing. I took this video right after that. Isn't he cute?


As for my exciting new thing, I have finally joined the ranks of minivan driving moms. I know that a lot of you, my friends, have done this already, but, I held out for as long as I could. Now I can't really remember why I didn't want a minivan, I just didn't. I like my car and I wasn't ready to give it up. But it has been a pain getting three kids in and out of the cramped back seat of my Saturn. I was still carrying Adam around in his infant carrier just because it was a lot easier to get that in and out than to stretch and buckle him in the middle. But, he is going to need to switch to a bigger car seat soon and I was worried about how one would fit, so we started shopping for a van. I was set on getting a Toyota Sienna, but to fit into our price range we were going to have to get one that was older (2004-2006) with about 60,000 miles. Then we discovered Kia. For the same price that we wanted to pay for that Sienna, we got a 2008 Kia Sedona with 15,000 miles. And, it has a better safety rating, a better engine, and a better warranty than Toyota or Honda. I LOVE it! I don't know why I waited to long to get one. It is so spacious, it drives awesome, I love being up higher, I couldn't be happier with it. We just got it last Friday and have been having a lot of fun with it. Now I am looking for excuses to go run errands.

My pretty new minivan

My kids in the new van, we have so much room now.

Jacob Rides a Bike

The last fall I threw Jacob's bike over our back fence (it's a long story) and broke one of the training wheels. Luckily that was right before the weather turned too cold to play outside and we haven't had to worry about it until now. But, the weather has been really nice the last few days and he has wanted to ride his bike so we decided to see if he could ride without training wheels. I told him that 5 years old is a good time to learn. Wouldn't you know it, he picked it up right away. I was so impressed. After a few tires he was doing it. That is so like him, he is a very quick learner. He is especially proud of the fact that he can ride a bike without training wheels and his best friend and cousin Isaac can't. They are in constant competition. I am sure by this weekend Isaac will have caught up, if he hasn't already.

A Happier Note

My little Nathan is so sweet. The other day (before it snowed again) Randy took the older boys to the park. Nathan slid down the slide into a puddle of icy water. Randy took him to the car and took off his pants. Then Randy took off his jacket and wrapped it around Nathan to keep him warm. Nathan said, "I am so glad I have a dad to keep me warm." The next morning I was helping Nathan use the potty. I put the little potty seat down over the toilet for him. He said, "I am so glad I have a mom to put the little seat down for me." Don't you love it. I think this is better than "I love you." This is his way of saying, "Mom, Dad, I just want you know that I appreciate the little things you do for me." He is so cute.

An update on Adam. After a solid week of being sick he is finally starting to turn the corner. He did not throw up today, and he even ate a little, and played a little. Hopefully we will be back to normal in the next few days. So far it hasn't spread to anyone else, thank goodness.