Pumpkin Patch

This week I took the boys to pick out some pumpkins.

Then we decorated them. I like this, no knives or paint or mess.

I also went to SLC to the Dogwood warehouse. Dogwood is a boys brand and normally a shirt is like $24, but the warehouse price is around $8. They also have a "defects" area where I got a few shirts for $1. Here is my favorite find, I got 1 for Jack too.

Don't mind the fangs. BROTHER FOR SALE $1.oo or best offer.

The address is 3822 S 500 W suite T in salt Lake and sign up for their mailing list and they'll send you info on sales.

Seattle Trip

Our fabulous weekend was overshadowed Sunday by the death of our poor dog, but we had a great time. We had an opportunity this weekend to go to WA and see Erik's cousin, Judd - who QB's for Dixie, play Central Washington. I'd never been to Seattle, so didn't mind going even if I had to attend another football game. We left Friday morning with Jack & Erik's parents and spent the afternoon at Pike's Place and ate some seafood.

Saturday we drove about an hour to Ellensburg, this darling little college town, for the game. Helen & I did some shopping at some cute shops before the game, then met up with the men.

It was a short trip, I could have spent another day doing a ferry trip and some more shopping, but it was a nice break. Erik didn't even answer his phone. When we got home Sunday he had 39 new messages. I told him I have probably never had 39 messages ever, let alone over 1 weekend. So I was glad to spend some time with my husband and am anxious for the next 3 weeks of football to be over.

These huge bouquets of flowers were $5 & $10- so we got some for out hotel room. They would have cost like $60 here, they were gorgeous.

My chubby little bear. Jack was such a good traveler. Everyone in the airport and on the streets would stop and point and talk to him.

At the game. We were lucky not to have any rain, but it was still chilly.

Funny story Erik just told me. Kire was asking where I was tonight and Erik said I was in my room. Kire said, "no she's not, I can't hear her coughing." Ya, I have this nasty cough I can't shake, but I thought it was funny Kire noticed.

Goodbye Kuma

We had a horrible night. We returned home from our trip to Seattle, I went to pick up Kire from my mom's and Erik had a football meeting. Some time in between us running around our dog Kuma ran out the front door, which he always does. I ran outside and called after him, but he wouldn't come, so I went back inside and put Jack to bed and forgot about him. As I am setting Jack in his crib at about 8:30 pm I hear a knock at the door. It's a young guy from our ward and he thinks he's hit our dog.

I tell Kire to stay home and run outside. Kuma couldn't move his back legs and was having a hard time breathing. The poor kid had tears in his eyes and was asking what he could do. I just patted him on the shoulder and told him I was sorry and that it was my fault not his and to go home. I carried Kuma inside and started crying. Kire followed me in sobbing saying he didn't want Kuma to die and that we need to take him to the doctor. Erik was gone, but returned just as I was loading up the kids. We took Kuma to the emergency vet who took an x-ray and told us he was paralized. While Erik was waiting form some tests I sat in the car with Kire. He kept telling me not to be sad and that Kuma was ok. We talked about heaven and tried to prepare him for what was to come.

We said goodbye to Kuma and will have to burry him tomorrow. I am so sad, mostly for Kire because he loved his dog. He was a good dog. He was playful and didn't get too mad at Kire when he shot nerf bullets at him or chased him with swords.

I feel sick about this because I shouldn't have let him run outside. And I'm sick that I feel a little bit relieved because he was such a pain in the ass sometimes. I'm sick with guilt because I'm thinking of how Kuma won't bark and wake up Jack or pee on the side of the couch or scratch to come inside. But mostly I'm sad and we'll miss him terribly.

Friday Night Lights

Erik is the head football coach for Northridge, the highschool around here, which also happens to be where I went to school (and where we met, but that's another story). So if you see me at games it's not because I'm a "super senior," (which is what me and my friends used to call kids who had graduated and still came to school functions) it's because I'm a good supportive wife. I actually really enjoy watching the games, but I can no longer sit in the stands after almost getting into a fight with one of the players bitch of a mom a couple years ago. There's too many crazy parents up there swearing at my husband, because they know so much more than the coaches, so now I sit in the grass where I can't hear criticism and my kids can run around. Here's a few things I Like about games...

My sexy husband.

That guy on the left, the principal (too bad he wasn't there when I was in school) is not too bad to look at. And the vice principal on the right, who I call Denny Crane (he looks and acts like William Shatner on Boston Legal) always flirts with me a little, which makes me feel good.

And of course I get to show off my 2 cute guys. Kire spends the game chasing kids around on the grass and Jack gets passed around by some of the baby hungry coaches wives.

Unfortunatly I haven't discovered a Tim Riggins this year on the team (if you watch Friday Night Lights you know what I'm talking about) but I'll keep looking.

Pigs in a blanket

My husband read my blog last night and said I was mean for the last post. And I told him he was mean for being so inconsiderate. So here is a lame post to take your minds off my sometimes lazy husband.

Pigs in a blanket. I seriously hadn't had these since I was a kid, but the other day I was pulling out Pillsbury croissants & decided to roll turkey dogs in them. They went awesome with the minstrone soup I made.

Today I went to put Jack in his swing & found this.

Curious George wrapped in a blanket.

I took him out of the swing & put him in the bouncer and Kire got mad at me and told me he was going to tell dad. He's been telling on me lately, and when Erik says he's going to put me in time out Kire cries. He's so sweet.

And the other night on our walk I returned home to find this. Too bad Jack didn't fall asleep too, but Kire was out from like 6:30 till morning. Jack is thrilled to have Kire's sweaty head on him.

Lazy

Today I discovered 1 shirt in the washing machine. Seriously Erik, you did a load of laundry and washed 1 shirt. I just about freaked out. What seriously pissed me off the most was that I had already thrown an armful of clothes in the washing machine intended on starting a load. So he threw the clothes out of the washer into the dryer & washed his own shirt. HOw hard is it to throw in the whole hamper of laundry. Erik does wash maybe twice a month, and only if he needs a specific thing washed (he's superstitious and likes to wear a certain outfit to games) this has happened on a number of occasions. Usually he'll throw at least a couple of things in (his clothes only). Thanks. You may or may not get any of your clothes washed this week.

poor kire

I just took Jack to his 6 mo check up, seriously where did the last 6 months go? He is still the most delightful little baby, all 18 pounds of him. He LOVES Kire. Kire will just walk by and Jack will giggle and Kire loves to make Jack laugh by falling down & making silly faces. We're still not sure what color Jack's eyes will be. Most of the time they look grey, but sometimes they're more hazel/green. Either way they're beautiful. And his skin, to die for. My sister calls him a little Samoan.

I just saw this video on my friend Natalie's blog. It's about how kids feel when you bring home another sibling. It's pretty funny, and now I feel bad for Kire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHttp9QOsKg

Projects

Last weekend I decided I needed a tv in our front room. We have a tv downstairs, but I hate going ALL THE WAY DOWNSTAIRS to watch tv because then I can't do anything else. And we had a tv in our bedroom which I hated because Erik gets home late & wants to watch NFL NEtwork, and I can't sleep. So we got rid of the tv in our room, and got a tv out front. It has been so nice. Kire can watch cartoons while I do dishes and Erik can watch sports while I read in my room. Why didn't I think of this earlier?

Before

After

And I had my sister in law Jen make me some vinyl for Jack's room, isn't is darling?

i own 5 strollers

I own 5 strollers:

an umbrella stroller

a single stroller

a single jogging stroller

a double stroller (sit n stand)

a bike trailer (double jogger)

and now we can only park 1 car in our garage.

I feel like I can't get rid of any of these strollers because there will come a time, it may be years down the road, that I will need a single stroller. But maybe I could get rid of the single & unbrella strollers and just buy a new one in a few years if I ever need one. They have such small sleek strollers now, better than the one I got when I had Kire. I don't know.

what to do for a vacation?

i am in need of a vacation without kids, i've never left them and erik and i need to getaway and rekindle some things. I'm thinking a cruise the first part of december or early next year. So any advice: cruise lines, destinations, time, would be appreciated. I think it would be fun to go with a bunch of other couples too, so if you're interested let me know.

Preschool

Kire started preschool yesterday. It is Tues through Thurs, I kind of wish it was only 2 days a week but 3 will be good for him. His first project was to write his name and decorate each letter with objects that start with that letter. I got a piece of cardstock and we stuck stickers to it; kittens for K, insects for I and so on. I was proud of our little project until we show up to school and half of the moms are carrying poster boards with fruit loops or m&m's stuck to it. Why do people put so much pressure on themselves to be so over the top, especially in PRESCHOOL! I'm happy with mediocrity.

The great thing about preschool too is that it's close enough to push the kids in the stroller so it forces me to exercise, 30 minutes round trip!

He has an Iron Man backpack, but he decided to bring the Penguin, which is cute. He also insists on choosing his own clothes & shoes-this outfit wasn't too bad.

Kire & his friend Priscilla helping him spell his name with puzzle letters

Facebook

What is the deal with facebook. I use it to email and keep in touch with friends. What is up with people asking to be my friend when i wasn't ever friends with them in the first place. Just because we know some of the same people or went to the same highschool doesn't mean we're friends. And i know they don't really care what I'm up to, they just want to say they have like 600 friends. I used to accept everyone because i felt bad, but not anymore. Don't ask to be my friend unless we actually know each other, k thanks.

Boutique

My sister in law Jenny is having a boutique at her house in Farr West this Thursday. She's having someone sell shirts, bags, sunglasses & jeans (like True Religion for $60). I'm going to be selling my watches as well. It'll be lots of fun, I'm so excited to shop for fall! If you're interested let me know and I can email you her address.

Thursday August 27

6:30-8:30

New Pictures

A friend from my ward has been offering to take some pictures of the boys and we finally got together a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately we didn't get many of the boys together because either one or the other was being a butt-head. Here's a few fav's:

Kire's eyes are so blue, but Jack's are looking more hazel/green like my dad & brother Trevor

County Fair

I'm not a big parade,carnival, fair, rodeo, whitetrashness kind of person. I don't like heat and dirt & crowds all mixed together, but today I set out on an adventure and took Kire & Jack to the Davis County Fair. I honestly cannot remember ever going to a fair in my life.

But we got there early enough that there weren't a million people and it was breezy & overcast so we spent 3 hours there! BOth of the boys were great.

Kire fed cows, goats, sheep & pigs, but his favorite part was the reptiles.

He pet a snake and torantula, and held and scorpion.

Zac Efron

I finally got around to watching 17 Again last night while Erik was gone doing a football "draft" till 1 in the morning. I heart Zac Efron. He is so darling and all I'm going to say is that I hope my boys don't bring home friends like him when they're teenagers or I'll be in trouble ; )

Vote For Jack

So I entered Jack into a baby contest a couple of weeks ago & forgot about it. Voting ends the 15th so please text in your vote, it's free:

BABY 136 to 801-513-8855

Baby Buddha

Sweet Jack is 5 months old today. I can't believe almost half of the year has gone by. I have enjoyed him more than my first. I don't know if it's because I'm more laid back and know what to expect this time or if it's because he is such a delightful little baby where Kire was very fussy. I love all of his rolls and his chubby cheeks. He has to be sitting up at all times. He hates his car seat because it leans him back, I'm going to have to switch him out of the infant seat soon. I love how he watches Kire and laughs at him. This age is so FUN, I am enjoying it so much. I think with Kire I was so anxious for him to grow up so I could see him talk and walk, that I didn't appreciate this age as much.

Behind every good man. . .

I've been very resentful towards my husband lately. Since going back to work I feel like I still do everything around the house plus now I am working. Erik is a WONDERFUL father and a very kind hearted and loving husband, but I feel like I am constantly nagging him to help me around the house.

I watched a rerun of Oprah a couple of weeks ago and there was some sort of therapist on the show. She was explaining how women get frustrated with their men because we feel like we have to baby them and men in turn are resentful towards women because of the constant nagging. So I am having this dilemma. I don't want Erik to resent me, but I NEED some help.

A friend told me about this book, "Behind every good man," by John Bytheway. I've been reading it and it has really changed my attitude. Some of the examples in the book describe me perfectly. I kind of take control of everything from where and when we eat to where we park. And I don't realize I'm being critical. Apparently asking a man to do something makes them feel inadequate and not appreciated? I'm only about half way through the book, but so far I've learned that I will get a happier husband and better results by praising him for all of the things I appreciate and hopefully he will respond by WANTING to help. Another tip is to be specific: so instead of leaving a to do list I need to say something like "I need your help at 6 for 30 minutes," so he knows when he'll be done.

THe number 1 thing is to put Christ first.

"We must stop doing things that offend the Spirit-criticizing, resenting, withholding forgiveness, focusing on faults. Letting things go will increase our spiritual power and make the Spirit more present in our marriage."

So I'm going to try these things and hopefully we'll both have better attitudes.

Lagoon!

Today Erik & I took Kire to Lagoon. I haven't really been for years and they had a bunch of fun new rides. Kire had a blast. He wasn't afraid at all and went on every ride he could go on and Erik & I took turns going on the big roller coasters by ourselves. I LOVE roller coasters, but i get motion sickness so bad that I can usually only handle a couple of rides, so I went on Wicked & the Bat which were super fun.

GOing down the Log Ride

Kire on his favorite ride. It's like the Rocket, but smaller. It lifts you up and drops you.

Random pics

I just found these pics on my sister Amy's facebook page

Kire looks thrilled to have a new baby brother

And Jack looks just as excited to have a big brother

Weekend camping Trip

This summer is going by so fast. Between work & swimming lessons & activities we seem to have something going on everyday.

This week our friends the Coat's had us over for a BBQ & swim party-thanks guys!

They have twin boys Kire's age so they had a blast.

Then on Saturday we headed up Ogden canyon to go camping with our friends the Duckworth's & Veazie's. Erik & I aren't much campers, but we usually make it out about once a year and remember why we don't do it more. It was a lot of fun. Kire went tubing down the river, we had s'mores & sat in front of the fire; but it is usually more work than it's worth. I hate packing & unpacking & washing everything. The kids woke up at 6 am and every time Erik moved on our air mattress I would hit the ground.

Jordan, Jayelle & Kire playing "Harry Potter" with their "wands"

And tomorrow is Erik's birthday so we celebrated with his family tonight. Happy birthday honey!

And here's a funny video of Jack. I love how when babies startle they flail their arms.

Jack is 4 months

I took Jack to his 4 month check up today-it has gone by so fast! But I love this stage. He's smiling & giggling and sticking every thing in his drooly little mouth. He weighed over 15 lbs already, no wonder my arm is sore from toting him around in his carseat. Kire still adores him.

Here's a video of the usual smothering Jack puts up with...

July 4th

Happy 4th of July! We had a great weekend. Erik and I went out to eat and we also saw The Proposal-which we both loved. It's not just a chick-flick, so I highly recommend it. And I LOVE Ryan Reynolds. I have loved him since he was in Van Wilder.

Saturday I went shopping with my mom and sister at Gateway, then we took the kids to Erik's sister Kalani's house to swim and watch fireworks.

And every night we have managed to sneek downstairs and watch a few episodes of 30 Rock (I bought the first 2 seasons on ebay a couple of weeks ago). We are already finished with season 1 and halfway through season 2, I don't know what we are going to do when we finish. We laugh so hard. I seriously love Lemmons & Jack's characters. I have a crush on Alec Baldwin now.
So Jack has been teething already. He's almost 4 months and Kire had 2 teeth at 4 months too. I know it's bad, but I've been letting him chew on graham crackers & some fruit for the past week. He loves it and it makes him feel better. Is it too early to give him a little bit here and there? I'm going to go get some of those teething crackers, any other tips?

And Kire has a cute little girlfriend "Silla," (Priscilla) our cute little neighbor. She's a kick in the butt like Kire. Neither of them are shy and they pretty much talk non-stop. Sometimes I think he gets along better with girls because then they don't fight 0ver the same toys.

No makeup

Here is a lovely picture of me without makeup. Notice anything?

Permanent eyeliner! My friend Tesha did it a few weeks ago, along with my hair. I am in love. I forget to put on mascara half of the time because it looks so good. If you're interested I'll get you her info, she is awesome.

If I had money I would do everything: laser hair removal, permanent makeup, lashes, anything to make getting ready easier.