sweet home

You might not believe me if you haven't been around him in the last 6 months or so, but Brooks is giving Adi a run for her money in the talking non stop department. Here's the "conversation" we had two minutes ago.
"Mom, you should never touch a cactus. Never never ever ever never touch a cactus. You should really never touch a cactus. Never. Ok? Ok mom? "
"Ok"
"Mom, do you want to go to the desert mom? Mom? Do you ever never ever want to go to the desert? Because we shouldn't go to the desert if you don't want to touch a cactus. You should never go to the desert ok mom? Do you want to go to the desert Mom?"
"Yeah, maybe some time."
"You want to go to the desert Mom? Sometime? There are some cactuses in the desert. You should never touch a cactus. Mom, do you want to go to the desert for your birthday? What do you want for your birthday Mom?" (it's helpful to know that he is obsessed with birthday presents right now since he just had his birthday. he has already decided what he wants for his next birthday: a remote control dinosaur and a thing that you can put inside a bee to see inside it. please let me know if you come across one of these:) )
I can hear him talking to the dogs right now and explaining to them that he gave me a special job to watch the camera with the secret message in it.

Lewis put the pajamas on all twisty and we didn't notice until the next morning. Raise your hand if you remember this scary apartment in Connecticut.(our first one that looked like ghostbusters from the outside and smelled like smoke and cat urine on the inside)
Now Cate is wearing the pajamas. And look, she is standing ON HER OWN!!!!!! And she's only 14 months old!!!!! Three cheers for Cate!

On Sunday our church is hosting a "come and see" open house. So, if you live near me and are interested in what we believe or how we worship, come and see! If you don't live near me, Mormons all over the world are always ready to welcome visitors. Hope to see you on Sunday at 9am. Contact me for more info. (click on the pictures to make them bigger)

I had a terrific birthday! A big thanks to Lew and the kids for making it extra special.
And to my mom for sending the yummiest cake, Cate looooooooooved it.



Oh, and since no one entered my contest, I am declaring myself the winner and will love the prize, a $20 gift card to Target. I'm just REALLY glad to know that none of my friends have ugly things in their houses. Phew!!

JJ is 31. Here is a quick list of what I think are some of the cool things she has done in the past 31 years.

-given birth to 3 great kids
-lived in Jerusalem
-lived in Paris
-forgot most of the French she learned in Paris
-visited both Austria and Thailand while pregnant (what a trooper)
-snuck all her liver from a breakfast in Thailand while pregnant into Clinton's dish
-rappelled into what was probably toxic waters in pine creek canyon, zions national park (also pregnant at that time) despite her fear of heights
-also conquered her fear of heights on a canopy walk in Ghana Africa which was up in unstable rope and wood bridges about 80 feet in the air
-swam and ran track competitively in high school and ran a 5:20 mile!
-ran a marathon
-visited Acadia, Yellowstone, Arches, Zion, Canyonlands, Yosemite, Sequoia, Great Smoky Mountain national parks (and camped in most of them)
-put up with husband that has been in school the entire course of married life to date, and still no real light at the end of the tunnel yet

Happy Birthday J!

Let's have a contest. You win by having the ugliest "thing" in your house. Either send me an email with the picture, or post a link in the comments section. It can be a light fixture, a faucet, a bathroom, a bathtub, wallpaper or whatever you can come up with. You might expect me to enter my blue tub, or my "frosted" light that always looks dirty:


or the fan/light in the kitchen that brings you right back to the vineyards of Italy:


but you would be wrong because I am going to have to go with the fan/light combo in our bedroom:
It is quite possibly the ugliest ceiling fan ever invented. I double dog dare you to try and beat that "orb".

Brooks started preschool on Tuesday.
We had a great start Monday night. Lewis was on call and Cate decided she wanted to be awake from 1 to 3:30 am (or maybe later, that's just when I finally went to sleep). Adi kept coming in throughout the night throwing her hands in the air and saying "I am so excited! I can't believe Brooks starts school tomorrow!!!" Then I would force her back to bed.
When my alarm went off at 6:30 I thought "I'll just push snooze, sleep for 7 more minutes and then get up to make breakfast and lunches" but I quickly realized that I could hear the kids. A and B were already up and did not look like they had just woken up. A was literally bouncing off the walls saying "I'm so excited, I'm so excited!!!!!" and B was laying on the couch in a fetal position saying "I don't want to go to school" in a sad quiet voice.
He right perked up after getting to choose whatever he wanted for breakfast--Honey Bunches of Oats (he's easy to please).

I think he backpack is as big as him, but he has assured me many times that it is the only one that will do the trick--BATMAN!!!
Watch out bad guys at school! Brooks is REALLY strong 'cause he eats his veggies.
I like this one because you can see A in the reflection giving orders as usual. (camp director in training)
He ended up having a great time the first day (he was so exhausted) and was thrilled to be going back today.

So, now it's just you and me kid! What do you want to do today?
PS do you know how EASY it is do to errands with only one kid?!?!? I could do them all day. Maybe I will.

Jackie took this picture of us for a high school photography assignment. We have the 16x 20 up in our house. (it's not so yellow, but it's hard to take a picture of a picture, ya know?) We were in the backyard on Payday Dr.
We tried to recreate it last night. At least I don't have the exact same hairdo. But I do have more wrinkles and bags under my eyes. (and a better looking crown).
And here's our masterpiece. Cate won't look at the camera until AFTER the self timer goes off. Brooks won't stop pinching my neck and Adi won't stop the fake slash forced smile, but we did get them all on the deck at one time with no fighting which is a feat in itself.

It's called "where's the baby?" To play you just turn your back for one second and then she's gone.
Is she in the dog crate attacking the sweet innocent dogs?
Oh ha ha ha!
Is she pulling fun treasures out of the bathroom drawers?
Or unloading all of the baking items from the bottom cupboards?
Or maybe tearing apart books from dad's side of the bed?
Or in the bathroom playing with the bath toys? (she's looking chubbier, right?)

I have no idea, but I do know where you can find super Brooks aka light boy (because I caved and got him the light up spiderman shoes because what does it really matter) or super dog---upside down on the couch where he always is.

So the first day of school has come and gone and it was much much better (for me at least) than last year. I walked her in even though she made me promise that I wouldn't walk her ALL THE WAY INTO HER CLASSROOM (how embarassing!!!!). She ran ahead of me and walked in with a friend from her kindergarten class. I followed behind with the rest of the gang and made sure she found the right classroom (she had been nervous about that all morning--"which side is it on? which side is left again? is it on the left if I come from the front office or the K hall?" etc.). So far she is loving it and has only been SEMI dramatic--due to being exhausted and hungry when she gets home.
Bye Mom! Next time you blink I'll be off to college!


Hello Kitty backpack and lunch box/bag thing are ready to go.


Adi (her newest name choice) insisted that we do a fashion show down the hallway while we went through all her old clothes to see which ones still fit. Unfortunately my camera battery ran out of juice early on. You will just have to believe me that it was unforgettable (as you might imagine).


The school kids with their "back to school" present from me, a globe. They have been wanting one forever. Begging, pleading. I thought going back to school slash starting preschool was a good reason to get one for them. It sits on A's office "desk" (along with a framed picture of Lewis of course) where she helps people travel around the world. Not sure exactly what that means, but they are loving it and actually learning a lot too.

We had a "pet parade" activity at church yesterday. The kids thought it was the coolest. I thought it was awfully hot and sweaty, but we all had a great time. My favorite was the pet goldfish in the wagon. Michelle, you are a champ!

Kate and Cate

• back to school clothes---check

• school supplies---check

• first official visit to the dentist---check (insert rant here: I know we don't have dental insurance, but I feel like it is SO WRONG that I have to pay $300 for my kids to go to the dentist since technically my husband is a dentist. ok I feel better now.)

• run over a nail and get a flat tire (me)---check

• go see Night at the Museum 2 at the dollar theater---check

• have your car die in the hospital parking lot and spend lots of time successfully fixing it yourself (new spark plugs and distributor) (Lewis, great job dude!)---check

• haircuts---check

• sign up for fall soccer---check
  

• sign up for ballet---check
  

• find out who teachers will be---check

• meet the teacher day---check

• don't change the baby's diaper all day because we're running around like chickens with their heads cut off (but how cute are those new Target diapers, eh?)---check

We've had a wonderful summer and a busy week, but I think we're all ready to go for next week's big school start. Oh, except I can't find a decent pair of shoes for Brooks. He has a pair of Keens and a pair of crocs that he loves, but his other shoes are all at least 2 sizes too small (oops...). Any suggestions? I am aiming for velcro and no animated characters if at all possible. There is a cute pair at The Children's Place, but I'm not sure of the quality there.

You are my guitar hero.
Come on people, let's hear it for Jackie!!!!

I fell in love with this upholstered headboard from Pottery Barn. But I didn't want to pay $600 for it, so I made my own.

Of course, mine isn't as pretty, and it's a little taller than I wanted (I had to move it up to be able to attach it to the bed frame), but I'm still excited to have a headboard. Now I just need : a white bedskirt, white bedside tables, a black and white picture of some quaking aspens framed above my bed, that rug and that pretty bed spread, oh and to paint my room a nice gray blue. Ahh, someday......