Happily Ever After

I forgot in my update of the summer to include an update of the house :) We spent a large portion of our summer redoing our kitchen. I got this crazy idea to paint the cabinets and redo countertops and sink. I drug Tyson all over the neighborhood (as well as all over the blog-o-sphere) to show him it would work. He doesn't need a push to spend money, but sometimes the push is needed to get him going ;) So we began:


1. Bead Board around the bar



2. Painting Cabinets


3. Countertops and Sink


4. Backsplash


5. Valances

And the final product:

I'm there. Tayler has finally put me there. A short list of his most recent antics may illuminate many reasons why (this is the short list, and only in the past couple of weeks):

1. Poured gasoline over his cousin's head. Once again, I'm pretty sure I'm not negligent. I put the gas can up high or in the shed. But when Tayler's on a mission.....My first awareness of the incident was from Barrett's screams coming from outside. As I opened the door to find out what was happening, I was completely overwhelmed with gasoline fumes. Then the wet hair and clothes started to be concerning. As we pieced together the situation, it appears the two boys (and by boys I mean Tayler) got a hold of the gas can. After playing in the puddles they (again Tayler) had poured on the sidewalk became boring, Tayler decided he'd up the ante. As Barrett was hunched over playing in said gas, Tayler picked up the can and poured. Poor Barrett looked sunburned for a couple of hours after the impromptu bath at my house, but overall was unharmed. He did, however, request that rule #3 be added to his family rules: Do not pour gasoline over someone's head.

2. Punched his best friend in the nose. Again, screaming from the back yard. I run, and find Tayler's friend McKenna, bleeding profusely from her nose. I asked Tayler if he hit her in the face. His response? No, I punched her in the nose. OK, so they were on the trampoline so I'm sure this was an accident, right? His response? Nope, I did it on purpose. Sorry again, McKenna! Tayler might actually get to come out of his room sometime before turning 4. To top it off, he refused to give her a hug to apologize because she had blood on her shirt. Really, Tayler? I wonder how that happened?

3. Cut same friend's hair with the clippers. The two were playing within five feet of me, and then my bedroom door closed and I heard the buzzing of clippers within half a second. I ran (really I should be in great shape from the sprints to stop this kid) to find my bedroom door locked. While trying to find a coin or key or something, I was pounding and screaming for them to unlock the door and stop whatever they were doing. The final product wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined, but still, no one ever wants to take the neighbor home with a chunk missing from the front. Marlene must be pretty desperate for a break from McKenna to keep allowing her to come over :)

4. Disappeared in Park City. Three adults can vouch for the fact that he was right there. Then, he was gone. We spent 15 minutes searching frantically, calling his name, searching the store we were in as well as outside. Employees joined the cause. I was reaching the point of hysterical panic and was on my way to the outlet office to report a missing child when my mom called. They found him in a locked dressing room laying on the bench. He wanted to take a nap.We had searched the dressing rooms, but could really only glance under the locked ones for feet or a sign of Tayler. Nothing. When I calmed myself enough to not strangle the child, I asked him if he heard us calling his name. "Yep, I did." He knew exactly what he was doing. I don't think he expected the wrath, however.

5. We'll skip the McDonald's Playland incident. I promise we've talked. A lot. He's no longer a threat.

I've decided I can't take him anywhere. But then I can't have him home, either. Now you see the quandary. Maybe I'll put him in daycare while I spend some time institutionalized.

Tyson kept our summer interesting with multiple injuries. Although he as already been given this notice, I will reiterate: It is not a good idea, I repeat NOT A GOOD IDEA, to send this picture to your wife via email with the subject line "Check this out."

A phone call may have been a better means of communicating the situation, right? His defense was that this picture was taken after the sutures, dermabond, and cleaning up had taken place. He figured it was quite nice of him to wait. Now, I'm not squeamish. Blood and injuries don't really phase me. But to get a picture of your husband with his neck slashed open, that's a little disturbing. Apparently he was removing some duct work from a ceiling while helping a friend remodel an office, and the duct work got the better of him. He went down with it and it caught his neck while he bumped and banged every other part of his body. It really looks like someone took a knife to his throat. If you know Tyson, you know what he did when it happened, being alone and all: he grabbed a rag, held it on it, and kept working until someone came. Luckily the friend he was working with is a plastic surgeon, and he promptly put Tyson back together. Thanks Dr. Ashby!

So, then a couple of weeks later (probably because the attention was waning- hehe) Tyson had to try to remove another body part. This time it was the finger. Somewhere in the male mind there is a center for determining the most manly, least reasonable tool necessary for any given task. Hence, the never-before-been-used fish filleting knife to cut a squash out of the garden. Turns out squash stems don't need that kind of sharp. Who would have guessed? Another phone call to Dr. Ashby, and a reattached finger later, Tyson was grounded from all sharp tools. The kids have loved that one and have run to me multiple times to tell on Daddy.


Other than mortal wounds, Tyson's been crazy with his photography business. If you haven't, check him out at www.legendphotography.com to see his latest work. I think he just keeps getting better, but of course I'm a little biased.

What would the "Mom Blog" be without the obligatory first day of school pictures? And no, kids, just because they're two months late doesn't mean I love you any less than the other moms. Really.

I did a little back-blogging, and I'm going to keep up now, so stay tuned!

What have we as a family been up to?

• Lots of baseball! This kids played, but we also went to a few Raptors and Bees games. Oh, so fun! I love baseball!

• Bear Lake. There is nothing that says summer like the annual trip with the family. This year was one of the best ever! The kids are at the perfect ages for it.

Tyson's favorite Bear Lake activity: sleeping, followed closely by golf.

• 4th of July. Again, full of traditions. McKayla had her all-star softball game, followed by parade, swimming, bbq, another bbq, and fireworks!
  

• Hiking

• Lagoon. My kids love it. Ever since Papa bought us all season passes, we can't go a year without them! It's nice to go for a couple of hours and be done.

We needed summer to end so we could rest!

The updates stopped. I realize that. Tayler is the reason. Although there's not much to update on him, he's definitely taking up more than his fair share of my time! Here's a few of the highlights in the life of a 3-year-old:

• Moved from a crib to a "big-boy bed." I realize that this should have happened months or years ago, but he needed restraint. I promise. The transition went very smoothly. He's not fallen out yet, and he stays in bed when he is supposed to. So much for my worst fear.

• Potty trained, un-potty trained, potty trained, un-potty trained (I think you get the gist). I'm slowly realizing that this child is my most stubborn, which is frightening. He decided he was ready to potty train, then after 100% being trained on his own, he decided he didn't want to be potty trained anymore. The cycle repeated itself too many times to count, with the episodes of being trained lasting from a couple of weeks to a couple of months. It better be final this time! Poop and underwear don't mix.

• Mostly he's just busy. Because I haven't updated in so long, it's hard to remember all the naughtiness he exuded during the summer. I'm sure the comments will be full of examples, because somehow, my kids have a lasting impression. (For examples of current Tayler antics, stay tuned....this is just an update through the summer:))

Tanner has gone non-stop for the past couple of months. Here's his rundown:

• T-Ball - Another little ball player like his sister. Tanner actually made some pretty amazing stops and throws. He's adorable doing it, too!

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• Tumbling - After learning and forgetting how to do back flips and back handsprings on the trampoline, he spent a full day re-learning, and now he's a pro. He even does back handsprings without a spot on the wedge mat at his gym. It's the cutest thing ever! He also managed to climb to the top of the rope, a feat he's extremely proud of (mostly because he was bribed into it by Tyson).

• Turned the big 7 - Having a July birthday sure makes it a long wait from when your friends start turning 7! We celebrated for at least a week with dinner and a movie with friends, pizza and cake and ice cream with family, and a special birthday dinner/going away dinner (for McKayla) at Texas Roadhouse. Mmmm.
  

And there's lots more pictures that I can't blog since Tyson got a new computer that he puts all of his pictures on. Just trust me that there were some darling pictures from his birthday.