SAM'S HOME!!

hi everybody!!

I got home two days ago!! it's so good to be home!! I came home and the first thing i notice was how utah smells! it smells sooo amazingly good!!!

Oregon was a fun place to be for a little while but i hate not being home...in oregon we hiked and went camping and stayed at home...when we hiked we went to a waterfall and we were so high up i couldnt believe we had hiked that whole way!! its so good to be home!!

Cant wait to see everyone again!!

Adventures in San Diego

David and I decided it was time for a family vacation. The boys are very into Lego's right now, so we decided to go to the San Diego area and see the beach, SeaWorld, and most importantly - LegoLand! We left around 8am on July 5th. Our GPS (Lola) told us it would take about 10.5 hours to get there - Boy, was she wrong!!

Sophie is potty trained, and we're SO happy about that, but it makes traveling a little bit...well, llonnggerrr. Before Las Vegas, we had already stopped several times, including gas, lunch and breakfast, so it was taking quite a while. But after St. George we were really staring to make great time - cruise control set at 80 mph, MJ blaring on the CD player, happy, smiling kids. And then it happened. Construction in Vegas. We were suddenly down to 8 mph (sometimes zero mph) for an hour and a half!!! Could this have happened in a worse area??!!?? Two very inquisitive little boys looking all around outside with curiosity at the (horrible, vulgar and downright trashy) billboards that were VERY slowly passing us. This is the only time in their lives that I have wished that they couldn't read. We told them to get their gameboys out and play a game, and luckily, they never looked up again.

Finally, we got out of the construction mess just in time to take a wrong turn (Dave thinks we took a wrong turn. I think Lola has a wicked sense of humor). We ended up taking a scenic drive to our hotel. In the dark. With hungry, cranky, tired kids. And a REALLY cranky momma (sorry, Dad!!). Not a good start to our vacation. But, we finally arrived (almost 15 hours from when we started) and got settled down for the night.

Our hotel was great. Marriott Residence Inn. Bedroom upstairs with a bathroom, another downstairs with a full kitchen. We loved it. Oh, except for the stairs. Here's where the adventure continues.

Sophie got up Monday morning and was so excited. She ran upstairs to see Grandma, went potty, and then we were all off to their continental breakfast. As soon as we were done, Dad went to print off our tix to the Zoo and Grandma, I and the kids went back to the room to pack a bag and get ready to go. Sophie had gone upstairs to see Grandma and the boys. She was walking downstairs and somehow her feet got tangled and she took a LONG tumble down 14 stairs. I heard thump, thud, WHACK. And then the scream. Not just an ordinary scream. The "I am really hurt and need help!!!!" scream. I went running, smacked my hip hard on the edge of the dresser and got to where she was laying and screaming at the bottom of the stairs. I knew she was hurt but was hoping that she was more scared than anything. Not so. She was REALLY hurt. After an hour she still couldn't put any pressure on her left leg. Dave went to the store to get Ibuprofen and I called the pediatrician. The doctor told us just to watch it and give Ibuprofen. They don't like to do anything for 48-72 hours until the swelling goes down. She had calmed down by this point and was yelling at the stairs, telling them how naughty they were, so we decided to try to go to the zoo. She couldn't walk but we had a stroller for her so off we went.

We got to the zoo around noon and Dave dropped all of us off at the front. Then he went to park. He took FOREVER to come in the zoo. And he had a look on his face. A look that said "don't worry, it's going to be okay". Not good. Apparently, after dropping us off at the front of the zoo, he hopped back in the van to go park and we had no brakes. He went slow enough to get into a parking spot and then made some phone calls, finding out that we had a major repair to look forward to. Since we were already there, we stayed for a few hours and then began the next journey of trying to find an auto repair shop. Long story short....new front brakes, $700, Rental car for the next day $80. Lucky us. But seriously, we felt so blessed. What if that would have happened in the middle of all that construction in 113 degree heat?? It happened at the best time (if there is a good time for this to happen). We felt very blessed. Also, our hotel ended up being only a mile or two away from a dodge dealer and the car rental place, so it worked out as well as it could have.

Sophie was a trooper. She hardly ever complained. We gave her Ibuprofen for the first 48 hours and then she didn't seem to need it anymore. We went to the zoo, SeaWorld, to the beach and visiting relatives, and then to LegoLand and on Friday we came home. Her very favorite was the beach. She loved it. She was shivering and so cold, but she would just cry when we made her get out to warm up. I can't believe how tough she is - she did all of that with a hurt leg. When we got home, we immediately went to the doctor and they took x-rays. Her leg is broken and she gets her cast (from her toes to above her knee) next week.

The boys and Brielle had just as much fun as Sophie. Their very favorite was LegoLand. They loved the rides, building with Legos and their souvernirs. All in all it was a great trip with lots of Adventure!!!

Baby Steps

I love the milestones that come during baby's first year of life. The first tooth, the first time sleeping through the night, first smile....so many firsts. I love them all. But I have to admit that I have a love/hate relationship with one of the firsts - baby's first steps.

Brielle has finally started walking. She actually started about a month ago, but didn't really get it mastered until now. Today she has been walking all over the house. And part of me is SO happy and excited!! My back doesn't hurt today. I've been able to use both of my arms today instead of just one. I only had to make one trip downstairs carrying groceries because I didn't have a baby to carry with me...All of these are good things, right??? Yes, they are. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

There's just this other part of me that really doesn't like it. In fact, this part of me hates it and wants her to stay little forever. I love picking her up and cuddling her. I love that she's my little buddy that just lives on my hip. And I love that she WANTS to be carried and that I'm able to carry her wherever her little heart desires.

But, the two of us had a talk. I'm letting her grow up. I'll let her learn to walk, talk and feed herself. Maybe I'll even someday let her go to school. And in return, she just has to make me the promise that she'll live with me forever. That's not too much to ask is it?? Maybe I'll change my mind at some point in the future and let her move out, but not for the next two or three decades. Baby steps for her, baby steps for me.

Two is NOT Always Better Than One

I've always heard that two is better than one. Two dollars - better than one. Two donuts - WAY better than just one. But two kids in diapers - NOT better than just one. NOT AT ALL.

Sophie has been interested in sitting on the potty for about six months now. But actually using the potty - not so much. I had put her in undies for a day or two before, but she had an accident and we threw them in the garbage (I'd WAY rather throw out a pair of undies than rinse poop out of them. How did people LIVE without disposable diapers????). Since then, she showed no interest in wearing anything other than a diaper. Until she saw the swim diapers in her closet. They're just like a pull up - decorated cute and pull up and down like real undies. She loved them. But then, she found out they are very different from a diaper.

Early this week, she got up, picked out a swim diaper to wear and was off and playing for the day. Then, something went wrong. She came in the kitchen screaming, crying and doing the strangest little dance (similar to the hokey pokey with a look of horror on her face). She had pottied in the swim diaper and, since a swim diaper is good at holding in solid things but letting anything else out, her legs were "all wet and icky". I gave her a bath, then we had a good long talk about why all big kids wear undies, and then we put a pair of undies back on her. She hasn't had an accident since. I'm so proud of her. And in this case, only have one baby in diapers, is way better than two.

M&M's and Teeth

It seems to me that my children are some of the youngest to get their teeth, and some of the oldest to lose them. Bradyn is almost 8 and has only lost two teeth (and those were more than 6 months ago). I checked about a week ago to see if any were loose, and not really anything. One on the top was a little bit loose, but nothing was going to happen anytime soon.

Well, Bradyn went over to play at one of his friends house and when I went to pick him up he was screaming, dancing, and very, VERY animated. I thought maybe he just needed to potty but he came running into the van saying (screaming) "I lost a tooth! I lost a tooth!" I didn't immediately believe him, but then I took a second look and something looked a little bit different....Sure enough, he lost a tooth on the bottom right side. I couldn't believe it. Here's how it happened (in Bradyn's words). "We were playing and throwing softballs at eachother and I got hit in the forehead, but not in the mouth, so that wasn't what made it come out. Then, we were eating M&M's and I put a bunch in my mouth all at the same time and I started to chew on something hard. When I pulled the hard thing out of my mouth, it was my tooth!! It bled a little bit, but it didn't hurt at all!"

How exciting for my son - and for me. One of my most dreaded tasks is dealing with pulling teeth. It just grosses me out and makes me feel queasy. So, from now on I'll be stocking up on M&M's and let them do the dirty work. I figure if the teeth won't come out on their own, maybe I can rot them out.

Hello, World!!!

It's finally time....time to get with everyone else and join the blogging bandwagon. As I'm writing this, my two oldest girls are laughing their heads off about the way I talk (or write). They shake their heads, look at eachother, roll their eyes, and giggle, giggle, giggle. I'll admit it....I'm not the best writer in the world. Sometimes I'm just plain boring, and yes, a little strange. So, if you can bear it, come back and check out what's going on in our world. You never know....the atmosphere in our house could be bright blue skies, thunderstorms, or a tornado. And the weather changes VERY OFTEN!! Hang on, sometimes it's a wild ride.