5 Hours From Here

With Nate in Honduras on an Air Force medical mission trip, I decided to drive to Utah for Memorial Day weekend. Some moms wouldn't bat an eye at driving 5 hrs with 3 kids, but it took some courage for me to decide to make the trip. It went really well though, and I will definitely do it again when the opportunity arises. 

It was a cousin and friend fest. My picture taking was sporadic, but here are some pictures I got...

It was also an animal fest, and if Emmy could say it, I'm sure she'd tell us that the pets were her favorite part of the trip. This is Lexi's dog Bailey. This is also either right before or after Emmy ate the dog treat we handed her that was intended for Bailey. She chewed, crunched, and swallowed it. And asked for more.

There are probably 30 pictures on my camera of Chloe under the bed. Jansen and Natalie got a little carried away.

Just hanging out with a Dora yogurt.

More hanging out...on the hammock at the Pectol's cabin.

Okay, now we're really hanging out.

It was a perfect Memorial Day afternoon up the canyon.

Jansen and Natalie love their second cousins. They are so good to my kids.

We got to see Monica one last time before she moved to California. Cara and her kids were able to make it too...I was so happy. 4 out of these 6 kids were born in O-H-I-O.

We definitely made time for some tree climbing. 

And although I am a particularly cautious mom, I did not make my kids put on helmets to climb trees. They had been riding bikes.

We made time for cookies as well.

A big thanks to these guys for just stepping in of their own accord and being "dad" to Natalie and Emmy. 

Best of all, I'll be heading back in a couple weeks to see Lexi's baby girl! This time I will be without kids.

Do Not Judge

We just got back from a trip to Utah, and I snapped this picture of the backseat right after we got home. I'll have you know it's spotless now, but seriously, isn't that disgusting?! Hey, no one cried for more than a couple minutes at a time the whole ride though. That counts for something. Emmy has also lost some privileges because of what she did with crackers she didn't want anymore.

Preschool Graduation

To say Natalie looks forward to preschool every Tuesday and Thursday would be an understatement. We just love her teacher Miss Aubrey. Lately when Natalie poses for a picture she has been crossing her arms like this. ??? This was right before we left for her preschool graduation.

 Natalie is on the back row, farthest to the right. The program was quite entertaining, complete with a couple really shy girls who burst into tears when they got to the microphone to share their lines. I wasn't sure how Natalie would do, but she waltzed up there confidently and recited her part more clearly than she ever did when she practiced with me. I was so proud of her. 

 She got the Explorer reward. No surprises there, she is definitely our nature girl.

Natalie and Paisley are two peas in a pod. They have playdates practically every week and have loved seeing each other at preschool. Paisley got the Busy Bee award, and I had to laugh thinking of all the creations and ideas a Busy Bee and Explorer combination can come up with.

Wonderful Miss Aubrey. She's so good at what she does.

Chocolate Chips in the Tub and More

Well, let me tell you how this one goes. Dad gave the kids bags of chocolate chips to eat in the bathtub. Emmy's situation went downhill real fast after her bag got water in it.

 This is Emmy's hair when it's not done. Totally cracks me up. She loves carrying around this old bag of cough drops. She has no interest in eating them, I think she just loves having a bag of small, no-no items in her possession.

 We got a basketball hoop for the backyard. Jansen has loved it, and honestly, so have I! The sound of three little basketballs being bounced in the house is actually music to my ears.

 Stickers from Smith's go on chins. Say it three times fast.

 Having some fun with the solar eclipse. 

 I heard the most heartfelt giggle come from the couch the other day. I found Jansen  just cracking up while reading a book. It was one of those moments when time stood still, and I was so thankful to have little ones around.

I Want to Remember

When Natalie carefully studied the face of our rocking horse, created her own horse face, and then assembled a stick horse using objects around the house.

 How Jansen is still very afraid of the wind. Each morning before he gets dressed for school, we have to check the weather. Based on how many miles per hour the wind is that day, he will choose between pants/shorts, long sleeves/short sleeves, etc. The more covered his body is, the safer he feels. Today's high was going to be 103, but he still packed a jacket because it may get windy this afternoon.

Last night he was almost in tears thinking about how today was supposed to be windy. I comforted him, but as I walked out of his room I had the thought, say another prayer with him. We prayed together and I left. I came back minutes later to check on him and that worried little guy was fast asleep. Prayer is powerful.

 How Nate had to work on Mother's Day from 10-10, but he sure made it up to me. Not that he wanted to be at work, but he had chosen that day weeks ago not realizing it was Mother's Day. He ordered me 2 books I can't wait to read, got me a memory foam mattress, and made a pallet shelf I had mentioned something about months ago. You can kind of see it on the bumper of the car.

Wonderful People

Everywhere we live, we meet such wonderful people. I'm so afraid that one of these times we'll move to a new state and I'll realize I was wrong...and that we've just been lucky so far...but I don't think that will be the case.

There was a Priesthood Encampment (basically a Father/Son campout) this last Friday. Some quick calculations led me to the conclusion that I would not be the only girl without a husband that night, so I called some friends over for the evening. We got some In N Out and ate out on the patio. It was a great night.

 We also met up with some friends that same weekend and had a little pizza picnic at a park. Burgers and pizza...not our healthiest weekend. But right choices nonetheless. This much grass in one location is VERY rare in Las Vegas. The sight of it alone made me happy inside. All the kids brought their bikes, and it was a near perfect night.

A Saturday Recap

A little over a week ago one of Nate's young men had his Eagle project. I laid in bed the morning of and tossed and turned trying to decide if I wanted to drive 2 hours each way to tag along. The alternative was a long Saturday alone with the kids, so I decided we'd all come. We needed be at the church at 6:30 am.

Nate has been working a lot with James to get the project planned and executed. I've also spent many nights  listening from upstairs as Nate helped James with his math homework and encouraged him to go to college and marry in the temple.

This is James's dad. I'll never forget the first time he met me and found out I was "Bro Nye's wife." There was something in his eyes and voice that I can't describe, but he expressed great gratitude for everything Nate had done for his son.

 I really second guessed my decision to come when the park ranger counseled us about rattlesnakes, scorpions, red snakes that bite but won't harm us, etc. 

But we had fun. We walked around the campsite, snacked a lot, hung out in the car, and played some games.

And the boys helped with the project of course.

Nate had an ER shift that night, so we joined my friend who was also husbandless that night and celebrated Cinco de Mayo. 

We had nachos, watermelon and pineapple skewers, and watched Nacho Libre. Hahaha! Perfect way to celebrate right?

THIS is Jansen's take on the day.

Happy Anniversary

We celebrated our 8th anniversary on May 7. We went out on a hot date..to the pizzeria down the street. We decided to do something simple and stay close to home and watch a movie when we got back. I had my coupons ready for a frugal dinner date and of course they didn't accept coupons at that location. We just had to laugh that we spent over $50 at a local pizza place. Now we have LOTS of  leftover pizza frozen in the freezer for many, many lunches to come. We watched We Bought a Zoo that night. 

I forgot my camera, so we have lots of strange phone pictures like this one.

 Nate with his HOT chicken strips.

 I told you they were hot.

On the actual night of our anniversary we plopped on the couch to do some reminiscing. We had hiked Mt. Olympus one summer when we were dating, and as we made the long, hot hike down the mountain, we each took turns recalling a particular date or something we had done together. Nate later said that experience was so valuable to him that he wanted to preserve it, so he typed out all the dates and activities we had mentioned. We now have a little journal of them, and it's priceless! We read through some of them that night. Here are a couple excerpts:

"Those first few awkward times we went grocery shopping together, and we were nervous because we knew the other person was watching everything we bought!"

"That awesome night when we rode our bikes out to Utah Lake and saw all those NASTY, smelly fish in the river, we rode though all those annoying flies, and then as we sat down together (amongst wickedly fast rock spiders) on the lakeshore that little skunk walked right up to us, which was all we needed to say we'd had enough!"

In so many ways, I feel like we are completely different people than we were 8 years ago. I think being parents created a huge (but wonderful) shift. My life is everything I had ever hoped it would be, and I owe that to my incredible husband. It was indeed a happy anniversary.

Starring Emmy

Some roles Emmy has been starring in lately...

No Pants Emmy.

 Rainy Day Emmy.

 P90X Emmy.

 Spooky Stories Emmy.

 Everyday Emmy.