Happy Birthday Mark

Mark was able to come down yesterday for his birthday. We grilled some hamburgers, burnt some hotdogs, ate some non-sweet corn and then had some melted frosted cake with ice cream. HA. Doesn't sound very good but it really was. lol. To make a long story short, I had to be at our YW fundraiser yesterday evening and ended up staying a little late so Rob was trying to manage everything including two hyper kids while I was no where to be found. THANKS Rob and a HUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mark!! We hope you had a wonderful day!

"But, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour.
I'll be there for you, like I've been there before.
I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too." The Rembrandts, Friends Theme Song
:) Just for Mark

Time flies...

Emery's last day of 3 year-old preschool was Thursday. They celebrated with an ice cream party. She's changed (just a little) since August. It must be the hair. :)
She will go back again next year, 5 days a week, all half days. While I know and understand that it's not a big deal, it seems like sometimes it is. I have one more year with her home. ONE. That's it. Where did my 5 years go?? I must admit, one more year is better than none. I'm grateful to be with her everyday I can.

"It's a strange thing, but when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slow down time, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up." J.K. Rowling, "The Hungarian Horntail," Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2000

Instant Yard

Rob has been calling the sod farm for two months now. This week was a nice surprise when they said it was actually ready for shipping. YAY! Finally. This time, it was only 13 pallets instead of 20 and it only took about 8 hours with two people working. I did the morning shift and Mark did the afternoon. THANKS Mark! Our backyard is s-l-o-w-l-y coming together. We left a few spots open for a small patio (aka "the poor man's patio" as Rob would say) and an area to lay a concrete slab for the kids to play on. I've never been so excited about yard work in my life. Just ask my dad.


"I always thought a yard was three feet, then I started mowing the lawn." C.E. Cowman

For fun...

Emery is fairly good at holding her "headstand" against the wall. Riggs just likes to poke her in the belly button when she does it.

"In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play." Friedrich Nietzsche

Long time, no see...

Ginger and I had the wonderful opportunity of taking a short road trip to visit a friend of ours who happened to be in town from Texas. Tasha was in our freshman hall at BYU. We haven't seen her in 10 years. TEN years - where has the time gone?? It's funny how 10 years later, it's as if we haven't missed a beat. We caught up on everything and everybody. It was so nice to see her again and so nice to get away to the beautiful, quiet beach. We're so use to the commercialized areas in Myrtle Beach that we forgot how private it really could be. THANKS Tasha for the invite!! We need to make this an annual event.


"A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world." Lois Wyse

Check Up

Took Emery for her 4 year check up yesterday morning. We gave her a pep talk the night before - she is not a big fan of the doctor. My guess is because throughout the entire year, we've only taken Riggs to the doctor for check ups. She has seen all of his vaccinations. She asked me if she would have to get a shot and I told her I didn't think so. Oops. She was completely fine during the physical exam, hearing check, and eye exam. Then in walks the nurse carrying that special little box. Emery knew exactly what it was and started tearing up. But she was strong for her 4 shots and one finger prick. You can obviously see the "before" and "after" of the visit. She was not a happy camper. After the shots, the doctor asked us to wait for a few more minutes for a couple of results. Emery said in a very calm but impatient voice, "I propose we leave. They are taking too long." lol.

"The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease." Voltaire

Mother's Day

Our two little ones - the reasons I am GRATEFUL and BLESSED to be a mother.







My plant from mom and dad - THANK YOU!! I'm going to plant it in our backyard. Hopefully, I can keep it alive forever. lol.

















Flowers from Rob. WHEN Rob gives me flowers, it's always the stargazer. It's been the stargazer since before we were married. Short story - we spent the summer apart the year we got married. He sent me stargazers on the 8th of May, June and July, counting down the months to our wedding day on the 8th of August. It's stuck ever since. THANK YOU Rob. :)













Flowers from Emery and Riggs. Rob said she pitched a fit to get them. She loves bright colors, obviously.

















Lots of flowers this year. It's not usually like this but I LIKE IT.
Happy Mother's Day!


"May each of us treasure this truth; one cannot forget mother and remember God. One cannot remember mother and forget God. Why? Because these two sacred persons, God and mother, partners in creation, in love, in sacrifice, in service, are as one." President Thomas S. Monson, “‘Behold Thy Mother’,” Ensign, Jan 1974, 29

Soccer Star

Emery's spring soccer season has come to an end. I was so ready for this about 5 games ago. Surprisingly, Emery thought today (yes, the last game of the season) would be a great time to shine. After today, I wouldn't mind seeing some more.

Emery showing daddy the number of goals she is going to score. She had already scored 6. Atta girl!








































"Up to five goals is journalism. After that, it becomes statistics." Author Unknown

Defense Mechanism

I heard Emery scream REALLY loud and start to whimper. I then heard Riggs scream REALLY loud and start to cry. Then I heard lots of little footsteps running towards my bedroom. I couldn't help but chuckle before they got to me. I knelt down on the floor so I could take it all in on their level. The conversation that followed:

Emery: "He bit me."
Me: "Oh, no. Are you okay?"
Emery: "Yes."
Me: "Well, why is he crying?"
Emery: "Because I gave him a big spanking for biting." "NO BITING RIGGS!"





"There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother." Astrid Alauda

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOLLY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOLLY!! We hope you had a wonderful day!


"A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip." Author Unknown

Just for kicks...

"Funny that a pair of really nice shoes make us feel good in our heads - at the extreme opposite end of our bodies." Levende Waters

Disney on Ice

Rob was able to take Emery and her friend to see the Disney on Ice show this past week. Originally I was going to go but our plans changed so Emery was able to take her friend instead. She was soooooo excited. She was "ready to go" all day long. The anticipation was getting the best of her. Rob was most amused by their conversations on the way to and from the show. Four year olds are extremely creative. lol.

"You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again." Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762

Bribery

We have been trying to potty train Emery at night for THE LAST TWO YEARS!! Honestly, we slowed down when Riggs arrived but tried buckling down shortly there after. When I would wake up to feed him twice in the middle of the night (when he was a newborn) Rob would get up and take Emery potty (yes, I said TWICE) and she WOULD STILL wake up WET. WHAT IN THE WORLD?! We've tried the "take drink away by 7pm" , make promises, give treats, give punishment, post a calendar with a reward at the end, etc., etc., etc. THE LIST GOES ON. When asked, "Emery, why won't you get up and come get me so I can take you potty in the middle of the night?" Her reply, "Because I'm too lazy." Well thank you for your honesty Emery but something has to give. Finally something clicked. (After two years, something BETTER click.) Molly had talked to Emery over the phone about make-up. This topic went on for several conversations. Molly then promised Emery some make-up if she would not wet her pull up at night. When Molly arrived, she had the make-up in a cute pink bag that we hung from my dresser for her enticement. Emery could see it everyday but could not reach it (I know, lol.) Finally, after nine days of no wetness, Emery earned her make-up. We are now going on 12 days and keeping our fingers crossed. Whether it be make-up or the fact that she is 4 YEARS OLD (for heaven's sake!), I am happy the stars are starting to align.
(And just as an FYI - one time we promised to take Emery to a place she likes to call the "bounce house" where they have inflatables to play on if she went 7 days with no wetness. Well, she went 7 days which happened to be a Thursday. I told her we would take her to the bounce house tomorrow (Friday). Rob and I cheered for her, congratulated her and told her we could not wait to take her to the bounce house (since it's what we promised to do). Well, what do you know.....SHE WETS HER PULL UP THURSDAY NIGHT. Yes, Thursday night. So what did we do?? I took her to the stinkin' bounce house because we said we would take her after 7 days of dryness. Rob chastised her when he got home from work on Friday about the wet pull up (because she happened to still be asleep when he left for work that day.) Her response to Rob, "Mommy took me to the bounce house anyway."
Geez.


"A promise made is a debt unpaid." Robert Service