Splash Pad

For about 20 seconds after getting to the splash pad I thought, "Oh, this isn't so bad, I don't know why I didn't take the kids here before now this summer).

And then I remembered.  Hyrum and Kate don't like to play in the same area at the same time.  Kate is a wanderer and I couldn't find her multiple times in 60 minutes.  Kate won't leave her water shoes on.  Milo needed/wanted to be held the whole time.  It was hot (but not too hot) and I worried about Kate not making it to the bathroom when needed.  Not to mention, Kate didn't want to get wet and Hyrum preferred the park anyway.  Next time we'll just go about to our 'regular' park with shade.

I managed to get two good shots of Hyrum and one bad one of Kate.

Another fun weekend

Friday night we went with Kathy's family to the Samoan Cultural Celebration.  I was looking forward to some real Samoan food, which they had (but not what I was really hoping for).  We couldn't stay very long, so we didn't get to see all of the dances (turns out the good ones didn't come on until close to midnight anyway).  Hyrum found a few friends and could have stayed and played all night, I'm sure.

Yesterday we went to the Higly family reunion at a park in West Valley.  As far as Hyrum and Kate were concerned it meant they got to spend 4 hours at a park with Grandma and Grandpa Lafeen.  They both found plenty of friends to play with and Kate was even nice to a few of them.

 A new cousin, Odysseus.

 Kate and Parker played for a while.  Kate would growl at him, he would chase her for a bit.  It looked like great fun.

If you're wonder, he did fall off of that, at least once.  (And it was pretty high)

July 17-25

July 17

It was at least 90 degree's outside.  I tried to convince Kate she didn't need a jacket for outside, but it didn't work.  She also picked the shoes.

July 18

Kate said she needed to hold buddy's hand because he was too tired.

July 19

A friend of mine has 2 kids about Hyrum's age that have birthdays within days of each other.  She had a big summer party this year and rented this blow-up slide thing.  Hyrum loved the slide.  Kate, not so much, but she didn't mind the little pool.

July 20

Lagoon day with Lisa's work, Sysco.  It was a really fun (and long) day.

July 21

Milo and a very patient Oden.

July 22

I got a couple of hours off (Erin watches the kids once a week while I usually go to the gym, except this night she stayed a bit later) and Kathy and I went to a movie.  I picked it, even though it was the only one that really worked with the time we wanted to go.  Pacific Rim.  It wasn't great.

July 23

Hyrum's had a fever on and off for a few days.  I think this day was the worst of it.  He fell back asleep before breakfast for an hour or so, and then again before dinner.

July 24

Pioneer Day.  Nothing really planned, but we ended up going to see my dad in the hospital and then met Gordon and Jessica at a park next to the river in Ogden.  We did a couple of fireworks and got hamburgers for dinner.

July 25

This time Kate has a really mild fever.  That and the fact that she decided to wake up at 5 am has made for a pleasant day!

Down by the river

Today we come up to Roy and stopped by and saw my dad (he had surgery #2 for the second knee replacement on Monday) and stopped by a park in Ogden with Gordon and Jessica.  The toys were fun, but  it was pretty hot and sunny.

The river was a lot more fun.

 Kate spent a good amount of time throwing rocks straight up in the air and ducking for cover to avoid getting hit in the head.

Flop

My friend Kathy is in town and we were hanging out yesterday.  Since Monday is the usual day another friend, Erin, comes over to watch the kids while I go to the gym, I figured I could actually get out of the house to go and do something.

Why not go to a movie?  I looked for a six o'clock showtime and we were left with one option.  Pacific Rim.  I sort of wanted to see the movie, not because I particularly like sci-fi movies, but I really like one of the leads in it (Charlie Hunnam).  I even went into it with the attitude that I'd like the movie no matter how bad it was, just look for the positive parts (like Charlie Hunnam without his shirt on).

IT.  WAS.  HORRIBLE.  I mean really bad.  I can buy the premise for the futuristic world (big giant aliens start coming up out of the ocean from another dimension and the world builds slightly smaller giant robots piloted by humans to kill them).  But the writing was horrible, the acting just barely believable, and at every turn it was just too predictable.

My suggestion?  Watch Independence Day, Top Gun, the last 20 minutes of Armageddon and a couple episodes of Sons of Anarchy.  It may take you a bit longer, but you'll feel a lot more satisfied than Kathy and I did after last nights show.

Mid-month

I thought July would be a good month to try and post every day.  Turns out we're pretty boring this month, more than I expected.

I exercise (nearly) every day.  Usually I just do a video at home and try to do it before we go out for anything.  If I don't do it first thing... it usually doesn't get done.

Hyrum has been in school, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9:30-12:30.  Tomorrow's his last day until the fall.  I think we're both going to miss it quite a bit.

Kate is not potty trained.  We really haven't made any real progress in weeks.  It's frustrating.

Milo is mobile and not very happy at the moment.  I hope it's just all 4 teeth on top trying to come in at the same time.  He's had a cold for a week, so I hope it's not an ear infection or something like that.

Justin has been in Afghanistan for 5 months now.  A few more to go.  He has a date to leave the country, but I'm not really sure how real it is.  I guess once he leaves and is on his way to Germany, and then San Diego, and then home, I'll feel like it's real.  But, that's at least 3 more months away anyway.

My sister and her family moved to California.  They don't have the internet or even cell service for the time being.  I can't imagine.

My dad is the bionic man.  He had a knee replaced.  He goes in next week for the second one too.

My mom has a new job where she has her own office, with her name on the door.  It only took 30+ years to get there.

I don't cook dinner anymore.  That's going to be hard to get used to again once Justin is back.

I'm getting close (within five pounds) to my before-Milo weight.  But, then I need to get the ten I kept from Kate and the ten I kept from Hyrum.

Hyrum has a friend that lives next door.  They play great together.  Once or twice a week they play between the two houses for hours sometimes.

I really want a dog.  I probably want a new house with a yard before that. But, I'm not sure I can wait that long.  And why I want more more thing/person to clean up after I don't know.  Justin says it's because I miss him.

July 9-16

July 9

We stopped by my aunt and uncle's house to drop something off.  We ended up staying for play time and dinner!  My cousin has this in the basement and Kate is all about Obama!

July 10

Milo figured out how to scoot.  Not quite crawling, but he can scoot lightening fast.

July 11

I didn't take any pictures today.  I knew I didn't.  But, I did spend some time going through all the old photo's still on my phone.  So... TBT (Throw Back Thursday)

July 12

Kids playing with play-doh.  I figured out play-doh was a lot more fun if I let the kids smush all the colors together.  They don't care yet, so why should I?

July 13

Zoo day with Grandma Hardcastle.  They were doing some kind of ice day, where they feed the animals icy treats.  I thought it would be fun to watch and maybe the animals would be active.  The ice part was pretty lame, but it still ended up being a good day for the zoo.  Not too hot and not too crowded in the morning, so I'm glad we went.

July 14

Kate found the swimsuit while I was doing laundry.  She put it on over her underwear and then the swim diaper on top.  And the sunglasses.  The pedestal was her idea too.

July 15

A neighbor/ward member brought us dinner tonight.  She bought us all food from The Blue Lemon and a bunch of fruit and drinks from Whole Foods.  This was one of the things she brought over, Root Beer Milk.  I've never heard of it before.  Tasted a lot like a flat root beer float.

July 16

This lasted a full 2 minutes longer than I thought it would.  So... for about 2 minutes and 15 seconds.

A few thoughts

I wasn't going to post today.  Yesterday was a struggle, and today was even worse -trying to come up with something to write.  (Among other things).  I figured that even though I made a goal to spend one month out of every 3 or 4 months out of the year writing every day (So far it's been November, March, and July) I thought if I didn't have anything to write, I wouldn't write.  But, that's how I got in the habit of only writing a few times a month in the first place.

So, here's today's post.

I'm almost always reading a book (or two).  And, I've recently started keeping a list of interesting, funny, or thought provoking quotes on my phone.  It started because of book club, but I've started writing them down even if it wasn't a book club book.  Thought I'd share a few here.

"Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn

Sleep is like a cat it only comes to you if you ignore it.

"The Fault in our Stars" by John Green

Some tourists think Amsterdam is a city of sin, but in truth it is a city of freedom.  And in freedom, most people find sin.

People always get used to beauty. 

"And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini

The say, Find a purpose in your life and live it.  But, sometimes, it is only after you have lived that you recognize your life had a purpose, and likely one you never had in mind.

More about yours truly

How many times have you been pulled over? 
Three.  The first time was a month after I got my license, expired registration.  (Had to talk to the city attorney to help with this one).  Once in Roy taking my little brother to the orthodontist.  I was speeding and made an illegal turn. (Attended a defensive driving course).  And once for speeding on Bangerter highway on my way to drop off my kids off at my aunts house.  (Just paid the ticket)

Last three books you read? 
I had a couple books on hold at the library that all came up at the same time, and a book club one, so I've read three in a very short time.  "The Kitchen Daughter" by Jale McHenry.  "The Fault in our Stars" by John Green and I'm half way through "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini.

Have you ever run or rode in a race? 
Yes.  I usually do at least a couple of 5K's a year.  On the years I've been pregnant I walk them.

How do you (and how often) stay connected online?
On my phone I have the Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Feedly apps.  I get on Facebook and Twitter every couple of days.  Instagram many times a day, same with Feedly.  I usually get on Pinterest a couple times a week.  I guess I also blog.

Have you ever changed a tire or the oil in your car?
Tires, yes.  A few times.  I tried to help a friend of mine change my oil in high school.  He got too frustrated.  I ended up just watching and handing him the stuff he needed.

What did you major in college?
Started out as Family and Human Development.  When I returned following my mission they added Consumer and a few more classes I had to take.  So, FCHD.  Family, Consumer and Human Development with a minor in Family Finance.  Which... meant I took a lot of really interesting classes and graduated without any real direction as to what I was going to do for a living.

Have you had any surgeries?
Three.  My appendix out when I was 10.  A nose surgery to fix a deviated septum when I was 24 and a... another one when I was 25 to fix a broken coccyx and cyst removal.

Are you allergic to anything?
Nope.

Have you ever bungee jumped or sky dived? 
No.  I was in Las Vegas with friends over my 21st birthday and three of us were going to bungee jump.  When we got to the place it was temporally closed because of wind.  I still don't know if I would have really done it.  I sort of had a crush on one of the guys we were with, so maybe.

Do you play an instrument? 
Yes.  Piano and organ.  I could probably still play a handful of songs on the guitar and ukulele.  Maybe a scale or two on the flute and recorder.

When do you fill up your car's fuel tank?
Before I married Justin I ALWAYS filled up at half a tank.  Justin is the guy that coasts into the gas station.  I didn't even know my old Subaru could hold 12 gallons until he left it on empty once for me.  I've taken on his bad habit and especially now that the van has an estimated miles left to empty display.

Are there any TV shows that you've seen in their entirety (all episodes)?  
Yes.  It might be an embarrassingly high number too, thanks to DVR and Netflix.  I know I've seen every episode of FRIENDS and probably Will & Grace.  Rescue Me (at least three times, the original run and two times afterwards.) and ER.  The Office, Parks & Rec... a few other newer ones that are still on. I've recently watched all of Sons of Anarchy (uh, more than a few of those I've watched twice too), and Justified.  Oh, and The Walking Dead.   Am I missing any good ones?  I thought of looking in The Shield and The Wire.

June 26-July 8

June 26
Aunt April taught Kate how a girl takes pictures.

27
Hyrum and his summer fling, Lily.

28
Hyrum's shiner.  I was exercising with hand weights in the living room and he walked right into one.  I promise.  My brother Matt taught him to say "You should see the other guy" when anyone asks about it.

29
Justin's uncle, Guy passed away.  This was his funeral/wake.

30
Justin texted and asked for a picture.  This was what I was looking at.

July 1
I'm not sure why I decided to take this picture.  I'd rather not have the memory of what it looked like before I cleaned it.  One of Hyrum's friends had an accident.  It wasn't pretty.

2
I hate paperwork and mail.  Justin loves it (mail, probably not paperwork).  Opposites attract.  I can't wait until he's back home and he get's to enjoy it all by himself again.

3
Jodi wanted to have a cousin sleepover.  Yes, 2 out of the 4 cousins are under a year, so it was basically my too big kids hanging out with Jodi.  But, I think that's what she really wanted anyway.

4
4th of July Family BBQ at my dad's office with a climbing wall.  Hyrum proved to be an AWESOME little climber!

5
Kid free for a bit.  Decided to go to the temple.

6
Still kid free. Went to the gym, got a massage, cleaned the house.  And it stayed clean for over 12 hours!  Amazing.

7
Kids came home from Grandma and Grandpa Lafeen's in time for church.  And in time for a quick swim, apparently.

8
A moment too late.  The Hulk and Princess were sitting quietly together watching TV.  By the time I opened the camera app they were up and yelling at each other.