You know how you do that? Imagine how it's all going to pan out? I tend to be like that with every function, occasion, get-together, meeting, etc... that I know I'm going to be a part of. I plan out in my head how it's all gonna go, everything is going to flow so well, this is what we're all going to say (as if I can really control THAT), etc... I end up being disappointed a lot when the function, occasion, get-together, meeting, etc... is over. All because of my own self! Crazy, I know. Anyway, so for me that's how Father's Day was. As usual I planned out ahead of time (in my head) how it would go: Evens would get to sleep in, that he'd wake up and come to the table and eat his favorite breakfast, then we'd all go to church together, have a wonderful day at church and get some cool father's day present there, then come home and have him open his presents, sleep, sleep some more, then watch tv together. And it didn't go like that in any way, shape, or form. Nada. Zero. Zilch. So I ended up being disappointed with Evens's Father's day. When Evens read my previous post about it being a crappy Father's day he turned to me and said "Kelly, it was a perfect day. I got to spend time with my girls, open some cool presents, and relax all day. I could not have planned it any better." Ahhh, thanks honey. I wuv you! I guess this just proves to me that I should probably stop being crazy and just let life roll how it's gonna roll. Because seriously, I really can't control anything besides my thoughts, right?

heh heh heh. That's a funny title, cuz it's got a double meaning. Sorry. So I was really excited for Father's Day because we got Evens some great presents (of course he picked out all of them but one...) and we couldn't wait for him to open them. Kara picked out the wrapping paper (Tinkerbell) and helped me wrap them. And unwrap them because they were for her, of course. And then I had to hurry and re-wrap them and then hide them from her. Anyway. We thought we'd be able to make it to church and just have both girls with us in Primary (since we still aren't sure whether this bug we've all had is actually contagious or just something we've eaten...) but when I pulled Sophie out of bed and changed her diaper I noticed that her skin was bright red. And kind of warm to the touch. And then once I got her clothes off I noticed that she was starting to get hives. All over her body. Neck to knees, back and front. Eeeek! At first they didn't seem to bother her, but then she started itching and I got her some benadryl. Ok, so no church for us. What with Kara still running to the toilet every 5 minutes and Sophie bright red and broken out in hives I thought maybe we ought to stay home.
*Side note: when I took Sophie to her 1-year checkup I had the doctor check out some random bumps that she always seems to get. They show up out of nowhere and hang around for an hour or so and then disappear. The doctor at first chalked it up to some type of bug that must be in her crib that is biting her. Uh, gross! And no! My child is not sleeping with bugs in her crib! But as Sophie was hanging around in just her diaper, the doctor noticed that in the places she had touched her during her routine checking Sophie was starting to get those hivey bumps. Ha! Told you my daughter wasn't living amongst filth! Turns out Sophie has some sensitive skin condition (couldn't write the name of it, let alone say it or even remember it!), which isn't really a huge surprise considering we've never been able to use anything scented on her body. The last time I did their laundry I must have thought I was washing/drying my clothes (everyone but me has to have a scent-free dye-free detergent and scent-free dryer sheets) and used the wrong stuff. At least I'm guessing that's what happened. We don't really know what else could have caused the break-out. Anyway. So where was I? Right- so we all stayed home from church, Evens got his presents, and we had a nice relaxing day. Well, I did at least! I got to take a nap with Kara. I also didn't get to cook Evens's favorite meal because we were both too busy taking care of sick kids. So I hope he had a nice Father's day. I suppose if you were to ask him around me and ask him when I'm not around he might give you 2 different answers. Sorry honey! I really wanted you to have a day off and relax, but the kids had other ideas! I promise I'll make it up to you next year! ;)

Hey mom.  I found the sealed bowl of Kix.  But I wanted it.  So I somehow managed to take the lid off.  Then I dumped it. 

About a week ago Sophie came down with a terrible case of the Big D.  Which led to a nasty case of diaper rash.  At first I chalked it up to teething, but it didn’t get any better after a day or two.  So I started cutting out everything from her diet, including milk, and since then she can only eat applesauce, bananas, and bread without any side effects.  I thought it was going away, so yesterday I gave her some other food and sure enough!  Here comes the Big D again.  Then out of the blue two days ago I started having trouble with the Big D, but didn’t really give it a second thought until yesterday.  That is when Kara started having issues with—ok, I won’t say it again!  It’s just so fun!  (If you are a country fan you might remember the song: I’m going through the Big D and don’t mean Dallas… no?  Oh, ok.  Well, I sing that song every time I say the Big D.  Ok.  I’ll stop now.)  So Kara is now sick.  Weird thing is we don’t have any other symptoms.  No stomach ache, no fever, no vomiting.  Nothing else.  It doesn’t keep us from wanting to enjoy everything else in life.  It’s just that if any of us eat anything besides what is on the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce and toast—although no rice for us because that is just too much work) we have to make a serious sprint to the porcelain throne. Or in Sophie’s case let everyone within a 5-block radius know that she needs a diaper change because she STINKS!!!!!!!!  It’s actually been pretty miserable for us.  Especially since last night I was at work and starving and a nice police officer donated a whole ton of Subway sandwiches.  I can’t even stand Subway, but I guess that tells you how hungry I was.  I snarfed that thing down in 2 bites and then ran straight to the bathroom.  Ok, I will seriously stop now.  I know that this is really personal, but since I will someday print my blogs so that I can pretend they are my journals so that my posterity will know some of my grossest innermost thoughts, I figured I better record this random episode in our lives.  Fortunately Evens hasn’t been struck by the Big D Bandit, but I’m thinking it’s just a matter of time.  Ok.  So I’m going to stop now. 

So for my last post I was determined to change my perspective about my life. And I have. It’s been working pretty well too. So well, in fact, that Evens got a new job! Well, not a NEW job per se, but he did have the opportunity to transfer to another store. Evens got the job! He now works in Bountiful. 15-20 minutes closer to home, depending on traffic! His hours will be a little bit better. We figured out that he will be home about 7 hours more a week. I know this doesn’t sound like a big deal, but he has been working on average about 12 hours a day for the last 3 years, so going down to 10-11 will be heaven. We are excited for this new… subchapter in our lives. Of course right now it’s kind of lame because he will be covering both stores until they can find a replacement for him, which means about 14 hours a day for the next few weeks (hopefully no more than that, and crossing my fingers that they find someone very soon). Hopefully his stress levels will significantly decrease since this store brings in less money than the Salt Lake store. Anyway, so I guess the point of all this is that changing your perspective can have more than one positive impact! Woo hoo!

I received this in an email today.  It was perfect timing, and I know that someone was thinking of me as I sent my desperate prayers heavenward for some help, guidance, inspiration-- anything.  Such a simple change of thought, and yet it makes all the difference.  Life doesn’t get any easier.  My husband will not start working less hours any time soon, and my beautiful girls are growing and changing every day.  Instead of dwelling on how unfair it all is, or how I wish my kids would sleep better, or how I have so much to do every day I am just going to change my perspective and remember that I am so lucky to have a house to live in, children to raise, clothes to wear and wash, and food to cook for our family. 

Perspective #1--The perspective I usually take
Doing laundry is miserable. Just when I finish 8 loads and finally put it away, the laundry baskets are overflowing again. My 1 year-old won't sleep. My kids are always fighting (right now it’s one-sided, with Kara smothering/choking/stealing toys from/jumping on Sophie and Sophie crying for help), complaining, whining, screaming, and moaning. My husband works long hours, and I had to mow the lawn myself. It takes two hours to get my kids in bed, and there is never any extra time for myself.

Perspective #2--The perspective I decided to take starting now
I am the head laundress for a very royal family. I have found that my chubby little baby loves to be propped up in all the laundry while I fold it and talk baby language with her. One day the mound of laundry reaching half way up to my ceiling will be a small mound of just mine and my husbands laundry, and I will have no chubby little baby to keep me company while I fold it. I also have the title of head tutor for this royal family. Everyday I have the opportunity to teach and train two little souls about the gospel, being kind, and developing a noble character. And in the meantime, they are helping mold and stretch me into a person of much deeper charity. Sometimes I get to be the head gardener. I even got to mow the lawn and smell fresh cut grass and watch the dark rain clouds float lazily in the sky while feeling my muscles work out. Perhaps one of my most loved titles is head bed tucker inner. For 2 hours I get to brush little white teeth, read and tell stories, listen to little voices asking for water, stuffed animals and special blankets. I get exercise as I put my 3 year old back in bed 30 times. And then I get to rock a little chubby baby and see her stop drinking her bottle and smile when I start to sing. Perspective changes everything.

Kara had some fun playing in the rain and hail yesterday.  I enjoyed watching her.  Ah, the simple things in life we all should be enjoying!

Every year Evens' parents get a condo in Yellowstone and invite one of their son’s and his family to spend a weekend up there with them. This was our year, and unfortunately, the weekend just happened to fall on Sophie’s birthday. We were looking forward to the trip, but not so much taking Sophie with us. She is NOT a good traveler, hates being in her carseat, and refuses to sleep anywhere but her crib (seriously, on the trip to/from Texas she only napped in her carseat for 20 minutes at a time every 5-6 hours. Miserable to say the least). Fortunately for us, my mom was coming up for my cousin’s wedding, and so we asked her if she would mind staying with Sophie while Evens, Kara, and I went to Yellowstone. She was more than happy to do that, and so this last weekend we said tearful goodbyes to our 1 year-old (we left on her birthday) and left for our trip to Yellowstone. Another fortunate thing for us is that Kara is a great traveler, and had no problems hanging out in her carseat for the 3-hour drive to Idaho Falls and then the 2-hour drive to Yellowstone. Probably the greatest part about the whole trip was when we saw a lone she-elk hanging out on the side of the road. We slowed down so Kara could see one up close, and she busted out with “hello! Are you going home to find your honey? Ok, go! Go find your honey!” Cutest thing! It was a great trip and we had a good time, but I was more than ready to come home and squeeze my baby.

One of the buffalo/bison Kara decided to name “Burp”. We’ll pretend it was this one since this big guy was hanging out 10 feet from our car.

Kara got a kick out of being so close to a raging waterfall.

While Evens will tell you that Kara enjoyed all the buffalo, it was actually Evens who couldn’t get enough of them. Every time we saw a buffalo we had to stop so he could snap 800 pictures. He’s a kid at heart!

We had about a 45-minute wait for Old Faithful, and it was pretty chilly. Kara wanted to wear her gloves but she also wanted to suck her thumb. Evens helped her out by cutting the thumb out of her glove. She thought that was pretty cool.

Watching Old Faithful do its thing.

Evens getting “chased” by a bear. This was at the Wolf and Bear Nature Center (or whatever its actual name is). It was pretty sweet being so close to bears and wolves knowing that you didn’t have to run for your life any second.

Kara played us some pretty sweet music while we waited for dinner.

On the way home. Kara insisted on wearing “lips” (lip gloss) the whole way home.

My cousin Tanner was married on June 3rd and it was a beautiful day.  Chrissy (the beautiful bride) wanted everyone to wear black, and so we sort of accommodated by wearing black and white.  Sorry if you are pictured out, cuz here are a bunch more!

Please give me some snacks

They are escaping!

Kara kept calling Chrissy “the princess”

deep in thought