4th of July

We went to the hot air balloon race, which is quite the accomplishment for us since we had to be there at 7:00 AM and we are not morning people. I woke Jason up and went and got him some clothes. When I turned around he was back in bed asleep again. I woke him up and said "Don't you want to go see the balloons?" He said "Yes I do, just not right now" and put the blanket over his head.

We spent the day playing Settlers with Laura and Terrence (Jared won, for about the 50th time in a row), and enjoyed some yummy taco soup.

We went to the fireworks at our normal place, on campus, where we had reserved our spot early in the morning with a blanket. Their favorite things are the glow sticks, which of course turned into light sabers.
Joey likes the fireworks, but says their too loud, so always puts something over his ears.

Tyler was terrified. He kept crying and asking if we could go home, or inside. When I covered his ears he was OK.

Happy Birthday to the Best Sister in the World!

I always took it for granted that I had a sister until just a couple years ago. Laura came to visit and at church the lady teaching the lesson commented on how nice it was that my sister was there because she never had a sister and always wanted one. It hit me like a ton of bricks how lucky I was, and how different my life would be without my sister.
Things I remember and love about her:

• spending endless hours playing My Little Ponies and "Miniatures" in our closet
• hours and hours of Super Mario World when we were older
• eating ichiban and watching Inspector Gadget, Teddy Ruxpin and Care Bears everyday at lunchtime
• being bored together at Grandma West's house
• riding our bikes to The Store to buy candy
• taking swimming lessons together
• she was always explaining things to me, like the plot to complicated movies because I was often confused
• She made me breakfast in bed on my birthday when mom was at work
• sleepovers with friends or just eachother
• She is an amazing cook, and inspires me to make yummy things
• She is very kind-hearted and has always been a great exmple to me
• I couldn't ask for a better sister and I love her SO MUCH!! Happy Birthday, Laura!
  Dorky braces picture of me. She looks cute, though.

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's

We went and picked up the kids in Colorado and stayed for a few days. The kids had a great vacation from us. Joey asked again if he could live there forever. There's so much to do there, and they had a blast.
Jason torturing Grandma's cat Joey and uncle Jason roasting marshmallows

Joey giving Grandpa a haircut

Tyler eating smores one ingredient at a time, heavy on the chocolate

Tyler taking a nap under Grandma's sewing table

Jared and his brothers went on 3 fishing trips in 2 days.
Marc's big catch: and Jason's:
And Jared's monster fish:

Strange things are happening

So it's been weird around here these past few days. I washed the kitchen floor yesterday morning, and 24 hours later it was STILL CLEAN! I didn't get up to get anyone a drink at 3:00 am. Nobody has complained about dinner, I haven't stepped on a hotwheel for 3 days.
Why are these strange things happening? My kids are with Grandma and Grandpa Moore in Colorado for the week. It has been such a great, relaxing break for me!
I do miss them, though. When they were leaving on Sunday Jason said "Happy mother's day, mom."

Finally potty trained

I know everybody has an awesome trick that worked a miracle and their child was potty trained in only 2 hours, and if only I would try it, it would work for my kid, too. I've tried it. It didn't work, and quite frankly I'm still bitter about it.

There are few things in life I hate more than potty training. It's so frustrating beacause the kid has total control, and you have to try all sorts of tricks to get them to comply. It's disgusting too. After just a couple days I've had about all I can take of pee on clothes, beds, the floor, etc. I won't even get into the poop aspect. You moms know all about it. Joey was pretty much the worst kid to potty train. He was 4 by the time it was all over, and I've been forever damaged by the experience. Jason was the easiest, but still not fun. Now Tyler. We've been working on it for quite some time (especially given the fact that I've given up probably 5 or 6 times), it's been a year probably. And finally, finally I think it's safe to say he's successfully potty trained. It seems like it should be a major victory and I should have a massive celebration, but after so much time it feel anti-climactic to me. Kind of like waiting in line at Disneyland for 3 hours for a ride that lasts 90 seconds. "That's it? I waited that whole time for this??" Yeah, it's awesome to not have stinky diapers, it will be even more awesome when I don't have to say "Do you need to go potty?" 50 times a day and when I never have to hear "Mom, I'm done. I go poop!" Which means "Come wipe my bum."

No underwear pictures in case there's a sicko who looks at my blog, since it is public.

A Trip to the Zoo

First Grandma and Grandpa Moore and Amy came, then the day they left my mom and dad came. Talk about spoiled kids! I think it was one of the best weeks of their lives. We took a trip to the zoo, which was a lot of fun. For most of us, anyway. Jason kept saying "Can we go home yet?" I don't know what his deal was. But he loved the reptile house, as did Joey and Tyler.Tyler loved the giraffes, but wanted nothing to do with the elephants or rhinos. He stayed as far away from those as he could get.

Top it all off with a ride on the train. What more could a little boy want?