A Full Week!

This week has been filled with a lot of fun stuff. On Monday we left for Smith and Morehouse to go camping. We were excited for our first family camping/fishing trip with Isaac. We got up there and had dinner and right after Ben made a fabulous fire it started to rain and it rained until 1 in the morning. We had fun playing games in the tent. The next morning we woke up to things a little wet, but it was still looking like a great day. I made breakfast and then we went down to the resevior to go fishing. We didn't catch anything, but Max had fun casting and saying "Here fishy, fishy, fishy." We got back to our campsite and had lunch and then is started to rain again. It rained and rained and rained. I didn't have a lot of things for the boys to do in the tent so they started getting a little crabby and started bouncing off the walls. Finally at 6:00 we couldn't take it anymore so we packed up our stuff. About half way through packing up the rain stopped and the sun came out. I was tempted to stay, but Ben was done. He didn't want to go camping anymore and was just done. So we came home two days early.

It was a good thing that we came home early, though. On Wednesday morning I looked out our front window where we have a family of robins and the nest was gone. It had been inbetween our drain pipe and our house, but it was gone. I got Ben and we went outside and the nest had fallen. Ben picked up the nest and there was one baby bird by it so I ran inside and got a box to put it in. Then we started looking for the other three birds. We found two more of them for a total of three, but we couldn't find the last one. ( Later we found it, the neighbors cat got it.) We weren't sure what to do with these three baby birds so we called the Ogden Nature Center and asked them what we should do. They said that robins usually come back and to just put the nest in a box or something and put it back where it was and the mom should come back. We had a bucket from easter and put the nest and the baby birds in it and hung it from the drain pipe. Within a few seconds the mom came back and feed her babies. It was so awesome. Max loves checking on the baby birds now. We can see them from our front window. Last night in his prayers (he says them by himself now) he blessed the mama bird and the baby birds. It was really cute.

On Thursday we went to the zoo. Max really liked seeing all the animals. His favorite animal were the zebras. When we left he said he didn't want to go and I said that we couldn't sleep there and we needed to go home and he said he would sleep with the zebras. Isaac just looked around and didn't really react to anything, but he didn't cry, so that was something. When we went to see the giraffes Max said, "Oh, Grammy's favorite." My mom had told him that they were her favorite and he remembered. His favorite was the park. We made sure we did that at the end because he wouldn't have cared about any of the animals, he just loves playing at the park.

Friday we went to the Clearfield Aquatics Center. Max still loves swimming. They even have a really big water slide and Max wasn't scared to go down that. He is just a little fish. They have a shallow end that is only a foot deep and we had Isaac in a little tub chair. In the shallow end he could stand up. He was having so much fun jumping in the water. He is such a jumper. He bounces in his high chair, in your arms, in his walker. He loves to bounce. We are thinking about getting a pass since the boys loved it so much.

Well, Max is getting smarter every day. He can spell Isaac and Oli now. He has been writing his name with chalk everywhere, on my door, on the deck, on the sidewalk. He picks up everything we say. When I ask him if he wants lunch he usually says, "mmm, let's wait." because he is playing with something. It's fun because I can carry on a conversation with him.

Isaac is getting really close to crawling. He is starting to get fun and not so whiny, although he is whinning right now. Max is a good brother and plays with him. He still loves Max. His favorite new toys are cars. He sits and drives them around. It's really cute. He had his first two teeth come through last week too. He loves putting his tounge on his teeth so most the time he is sticking out his tounge.

Ben is still waiting to hear from jobs in California. I start summer tutoring next week. I am excited because I am already full for the summer. I am not sure if I want to open more times up yet or not. I'm already working 6 hours a week. I never guessed that tutoring would have been such a blessing to us. I am so glad that I can work, but be at my house and be home with my boys. I wouldn't want to miss out on everything they are doing. I am so glad that I have a husband who wants me to stay home and raise our children. I guess I am just feeling very grateful for all the blessing that I have in my life. Heavenly Father is sure looking out for us!

Catching Up

We have had a lot of trips and things to catch up on. The beginning of May we went to San Francisco. Our friend gave us some buddy passes so we got to fly there. We got to the airport in time for our flight, but it was delayed by two hours so we decided to walk around and have some lunch. When we got back to our terminal the flight was moved up an hour and it had left without us. So we had to wait for the next flight. After six hours at the airport we finally got on the plane. Max was exhasted by now and while the plane was backing up he fell asleep and slept pretty much the entire flight. Isaac did pretty well too. We got to San Francisco and had to find our luggage because it was on the flight that we missed. Then we got on the BART and went into the city. By the time we got to our hotel it was 9:30. We left our house that morning at 8:30. It made for a very long day.

The next day we rented a car and drove around. Ben has applied for a lot of jobs in the Bay Area so we went to check out the areas that we want to move to. The city that we really liked was called Discovery Bay. It is a small town, population about 9,000. It was really cool. It has a river in the city and the houses are built right on the river so they all have docks in their back yards. We saw the schools and parks. There were tons of parks. We stopped and let Max get out and play for a while since it was a long drive. It is about 1 hour and 15 mins outside of San Francisco. We are now really excited to move there, now Ben just needs a job.
The next day we went back to San Francisco. Max played at the beach. He loved throwing the sand into the ocean until a big wave hit him and he fell in. Nothing like a wet, cold, sandy two year old. After we got him changed we walked the wharf and had to get Gharradelli sundaes. We are now addicted. I have learned to make their fudge sauce and make it about once a week because we have hot fudge sundaes every night.

Our flight left at 7:45 in the morning so we got up early and went to the airport. The shuttle from our hotel was late and we kept getting in the wrong lines. When we finally got in the right line there was no way we were going to make our flight, so yes we missed another flight. So seven hours later we got on another flight home.

As soon as we got home we missed it. We just wanted to go back. Hopefully Ben will get a job soon. A lot of the companies are highering from the inside, but they have to post the position for so many days and interview so many people. The good thing is if he does get an interview and he as to fly out there it is a pretty good chance that he is getting the job.

Last week was our anniversary. Five years goes by quick! We went up to Park City for two days. It was really fun to get away. Max went swimming for his first time. We went a few times last summer, but he didn't like it much. He had a life jacket on and at first he was really scared to let go of us, then he started to get a little more daring. By the end of the day he was jumping into the pool all by himself and swimming all by himself. He loved it. We were swimming for 6 hours. Now that is all he wants to do.

Max is getting so big. He knows how to spell Mom, Dad, Max, fox and in. He started to write his name today. He loves typing things on the computer. His new thing is he will only do things you tell him not to. So we say, "Don't pick up your toys, Don't get in the car, etc." He thinks it's so funny and really it is just annoying.

Isaac wants to crawl so bad. He can get around on his bum a little, but he just wants to do everything Max does. He is getting better with the crying as long as I am around. He doesn't like it when I leave him with Ben. I can't wait until he out grows that.

Tricia and I are starting a new business together. It is called Simple Things. She is doing a photography business and I will be doing my cards. I am working on the website right now, but I want to do a lot of things differently so I have been reading a lot of computer programming books. Let me tell you how interesting those are. I have to read them during the day or I fall asleep.

Enjoying Life

Ben and I finally decided that we needed to get out and do something fun instead of doing the normal clean the house, mow the lawn, etc. Ben had the day off so we took the Frontrunner downtown. Max thought is was so cool to ride on the train. He loved looking out the window and seeing the mountains.

We went to the Gateway and had dinner at Applebee's. It was the first time that we went out to dinner with both the boys and Isaac was good. He had his baby food and then played until we left. Then we went to the Clark Planetarium.

Max's favorite part was seeing himself on the tv. They had a map of the United States and when you stood infront of it you could see yourself on the tv so you could tell the weather.

He also liked being on the moon and mars. It was really good to get out and do something in the warm weather. We've been stuck inside just a little too long. We'll have to do it again because Max keeps asking to go on a train again. On Sunday we are going to San Francisco for a few days. We are trying to get Max excited to fly on a plane, but all he wants to do is go on a train.

And then there was one!

I am very happy to say that we only have one child in diapers!!!!! I can't tell you how exciting that is! We have been trying for the last two months to get Max potty trained. He would kind of go in his potty and then just didn't care if he went in his diaper. We tried a few times and after a few days gave up each time. Last week Max wanted to wear a pull up so I told him if he went in the potty then he could so he did and he has been great ever since. We are still working on going number two, but he does great even when we go out of the house. He is so proud of himself!

Max's latest thing is he LOVES to sing. We sing all the time. I am impressed how many words he remembers. He loves Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I have been teaching him his shapes and when we come to a diamond I have tried to teach him it is not a diamond, but a rhombus because when he gets into first grade he has to call it that and it really confused a lot of my students. Now when he sings the song he says, "like a rhombus in the sky" instead. It is funny that he made that connection. His new favorite movie is "Bolt". There is a pigeon in the movie that says, "oh, snap" and so he has started saying it too. It is so funny.

Isaac learned to roll over on my birthday. He is doing a little better about crying all the time, but he has had an ear infection for about a month now. It is getting better slowly, but he isn't sleeping through the night and doesn't take good naps so he is just tired all the time. He is getting really fun though, he started saying "dada" this week, which Ben really likes. He still just loves Max. Max likes to get into Isaac's crib with him and they both lay there and look at the mobile and spit at each other. It will be really fun when he gets older and they can really play together.

I am really enjoying staying at home and watching my boys grow up. There is no place I would rather be. There are the days that you feel so overwhelmed and you don't really get a break, but it is all worth it. I was listening to Dr. Laura the other day. She read an email that really made me start to think about how I acted as a mom and wife. The email was about a lady who loved being a stay at home mom and the thing she said that really hit me was she loved being able to serve her husband when he gets home because he had served her all day by working so she could stay home. I always knew that, but never really put it all together. It just opened my eyes to how to be a better mom and wife.

Las Vegas

Ok, so it was a month ago, but we had a great vacation to Las Vegas. Max still talks about it. On the trip I finally realized the difference between a Family Trip and a Vacation. After a family trip you need a vacation! We had fun though. We drove straight through to Vegas, it was suprisingly not too bad with the two boys, even though I got a speeding ticket on the way down. I know, shocking! I think it was like my 11th ticket. I can't help that my car likes to drive fast.

We stayed at Sam's Town. It was pretty nice. The middle of the hotel had a walking park that had trails and a big waterfall. At night they have a show that has mechanical animals moving and a laser and water fountain show. It was pretty cool. Max really liked it. It was nice because most of the people that were there were retired and didn't mind our kids. It was funny, we got a lot of double takes with our two boys in the double stroller. There weren't a lot of little kids there. Ben was sick so the first day we just hung out and watched movies and went bowling. Our hotel had a 56 lane bowling alley in the basement. It was huge! Max was in HEAVEN! He loves loves loves bowling!

The next day we went to Hoover Dam. We went on the tour and Max was a little bored until we got to the top and could look down at the dam. He loved looking at the water. It was actually the second time he had been there. He was 9 months old the last time. I went there with my mom and sister on our way to California. My sister and I were a little disappointed that there wasn't a state line pained on the road like on the movie "Fools Rush In". When I went again this time I was still disappointed.

We spent the next day on the strip. It was fun, but we got really tired of trying to find what we were looking for in the casinos while pushing our double stroller. We went to Circus Circus to watch the Circus performance. It took us like 45 mintues to find out where it was and when we finally found it, it turned out really lame and Max didn't really like it. We then headed up to Mandalay Bay to the Aquarium. It was really cool. Max loved it. He loved looking for Dory, Nemo, and Crush. He also liked the jellies. After it took us forever to get through to the street. We went through the casinos which normally isn't a big deal, but when you need to find an elevator for our stroller it was hard. They put them in the weirdest places. We finally got to the M&M store. Max loved looking at all the "num nums". When we got out of the store it was getting dark and the lights came on. Max just liked looking at the bright "num nums".



On the way home a trip that usually takes 7 hours took us 11. Changing diapers in the car, letting the boys out to run and play, and stopping to eat just took a long time. We decided we are never taking two kids in diapers on a road trip again.

And the two years begin!

Wednesday we took Ben, my brother (have to clarify) to the MTC. He is going to Portland, Oregon on his mission. It was such a great experience! We were able to have a family dinner the night before when he got set apart and then we all went down to the MTC the next day. We went over to my Grandma Meyers' house for a yummy breakfast before. It was so good to see how excited Ben was to go. I think it made it a little easier to watch him walk through the door at the MTC and know we won't see him again for 2 years. Max has been really cute. You ask him where Ben is and he says "on a mission" in a very proud voice.

Max is still crazy as ever. Today we were playing hide and seek and for the first time he wanted to hide so Isaac and I were in the kitchen counting and he ran off to hide. I counted to 10 and when I turned around he was covering his eyes in the middle of the family room. I tried not to laugh. I said "I wonder where Max went?" He then uncovered his eyes and shouted, "Found ME!" and came running towards me. I think it is so funny that kids think if they can't see you, you can't see them.

Isaac is getting a little better with the crying. He had his first taste of baby food, sweet potatoes, and really liked it. He was inhaling the spoon. I have found that if I try to make sure that he gets at least one good hour nap he seems to be happier. I think his problem is he is just tired. Max is really cute with him though. Yesterday I was getting Max's shoes and Max was sitting on my bed and Isaac was next to him crying. When I came into the room Max was giving Isaac a kiss on the forehead and saying "It's okay". What a sweetie! Isaac just lights up when Max is around. I am convinced that they were best friends in heaven and that is why they are brothers now. They both are just so cute with each other.

The Piano Project

Well, about three weeks ago I got a crazy hair and decided to strip my piano and refinish it. I was definately crazy!! The piano is at least 55 years old. I found a signature inside it that had the date 12-4-52 so that is why I am guessing how old it is. It was given to us by Ben's mom and dad. It had been painted brown so the paint and the stain needed to be striped off. At first I was doing it by hand. Holy Cow! That took so long so then I borrowed some tools from my parents including a power disk sander. Ben got an attachment for his drill that worked really good too. He wasn't so happy that I dragged him into this project. Once we had striped and sanded the whole thing it we needed to stain it. My whole house was covered in dust. I filled my vacuum full! I am still cleaning up piano dust. The staining was the fun part. The hardest part was doing the legs and the music stand. The legs just took a long time because they had a lot of grooves in them. When I was doing the music stand I had to do most of it with a chisel. I missed and scrapped my hand really good. I have about a 3 inch scrap across the bottom of my thumb to my wrist. All for the beauty of the piano right! Well, I got the piano done, all except replacing the keys. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will get to that as well. Then it is on to making a piano bench to match it. ( We are using a chair right now.)

Well, the rest of the fam is doing good. We started potty training Max this week. It is going pretty well. He is kind of getting the hang of it. We have to use a lot of bribes though. His newest thing is he can make himself burp. The other day he was trying to burp and he couldn't so he said, "oh, lost it" then he finally burped and said, "got it". He is such a boy! He really likes Nemo. We have a book of fish and he looks at it all the time. He can name all kinds of fish. I think we might have to break down and get him a fish. If any of you know me, you know that is a big deal because I still have my fish phobia. We are going to Las Vegas in March and we are planning on going to the aquarium. I think he is really going to like it.

Isaac is still crying a lot. He is only happy when he is being held or sitting in his bumbo chair. He just doesn't like to lay down. He does like the tub. When he is really crabby we stick him in the tub and it calms him down. At least he sleeps good. He goes to bed around 8 and wakes up around 7. I am really lucky that way.

We had the opportunity to go to the Draper Temple open house. It was so beautiful! We had such a great time. The next day my family went to the Salt Lake Temple and went on the session that my grandpa and grandpa were apart of. It was so great to be in the temple with them. It was only my second time in the Salt Lake temple and it is so beautiful. It made me want to find out more about it like what it looked like inside when it was built and what changes they have made throughout the years and stuff. I am sure that there have been amazing things that happened in the temple. I hope that someday I will be able to ask Heavenly Father. I did find some really cool pictures of the inside of the temple that were in James E. Talmage's book that was published in 1912. They were all in black and white, but still very cool. I will have to do more studying. Maybe someday I could be part of the cleaning crew and clean the whole temple so I can see everything! That would be awesome.