Longing for a swimming pool

The longer we live here in the land of hot summers, the more we wish for a swimming pool. Steve had the great idea of getting one of those Easy Set, soft sided pool things. So, since last summer we didn't get one, yesterday he decided it was time. He brought it home and in true fashion after getting everything set so we could fill it with water, we realized there was a significant tear in it. Back in the box it went and Steve took it to exchange it. After returning we set it all up again and after much debate over where it would fit and whether or not the group was level enough for it to even work, we attempted to fill it up. This is what happened.....

As you can tell it didn't quite work the way it supposed to.... we actually have quite a slope in our yard, it sure didn't seem like it until we attempted this. So, all the water collected in the half of the pool closest to the house. Needless to say, Steve was most bummed and we are boxing it up to take it back. I'm not sure what his next plan of action will be, I'll keep you posted! On a positive note though the kids had a good time being thrown in the pool and splashing around. They were adorable. Josh had a great time splashing until Brooklynn, while trying to help him sit, pulled Josh under. You can see in the last picture of Josh that he was terrified as he fell in. I can't believe I caught it on film because I was jumping up to pull him out of the water.

Is Joshua glowing?

PreSchool Graduation/ Swimming Awards

Here are a few pictures from the preschool graduation party for Brooklynn's group. We had a swimming party and the kids had a blast. Brooklynn also successfully finished her swimming and was so pleased when she recieved a 'Champion' Swimmer medal. After a few uncertain moments of crying and clinging to me, Joshua warmed up to the swimming thing. He looked so cute with his earplugs coverd by his head band that they (the doctors) insist that he wears. If it will help keep the ear infections away I'm happy to make him look silly!

Tyler... Brooklynn...Joshua

I thought a good update on all three of my crazy kids would be in order since it has been a while.

Tyler has been very busy with school and Tball continues for another few weeks. He is getting very restless for school to be out (aren't we all), but has loved his first year. He is a superstar reader and really has a good time at school. He has grown up so much this year and it is sort of sad to see how independent he is becoming, I love him so much he is such a great kid. He just had a big growth spurt, I can't believe how tall he is getting. I don't know if he will catch up to Jaq'eal, but he is going to be taller than me before I know it. I keep telling him that he is getting so big that someday I will have to sit on his lap so he can snuggle me. He just giggles at me. Brooklynn, Josh and I went to "Miner" day at school the other day (their mascot is a Miner as in gold) anyway, it was fun to see him having fun with all his classmates and showing his sister around his class room. Here are a few pics of him.

The Star Wars chalk art

Can you tell someone likes his big brother?

As for Brooklynn, she is almost done with her preschool group. You know the one that I have taken turns teaching. It has been great for her and for me, but I don't know if I'll do it ever again. Anyway, she is excited to be registered to go to Tyler's old preschool next year. She has also been very busy taking swimming lessons. They have a great swim school here which is super expensive, but I was able to get her into some of the teacher training sessions with a discounted rate, so she is now my little fish. She can swim across the pool all by herself and when she needs to she rolls over onto her back to take a breath and then rolls over and keeps going. It is cute to watch and she loves it. I have been amazed at the little kids they teach at this place. They teach 2 year olds how to do what Brooks is doing. Amazing. I have attached a video of her swimming so check it out!

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Joshua. Where to start. The kid is really funny. For some reason he just is funny. He does things that he knows will get a laugh and is constantly looking at us to see if we think he is funny. He is so delightful and we can't help but smile at him. He is also climbing onto everything he can reach. It started with the stool in the bathroom and taking whatever he could reach off the counters, but now it is worse. The coffee table, the ottoman, where ever his little self can reach. Just yesterday he climbed up on the coffee table and then thought wow it would be a great idea to dive into moms lap over there on the couch. Oh yes and he did, over and over and over again (at the encouragement of Steve of course). He was most pleased with himself. He is also starting to throw some great and very ineffective tantrums. I will say however that daddy is a sucker for Joshua and gives in way too much. We'll see how that goes as the tantrums get worse.

I took this picture before the child lock went on the cupboard with the colors today. He had a great tantrum when he figured out he was officially banned from the colors. Can you see the twinkle in his eyes? I am so in trouble with him.

I can't finish my post with out mentioning that GRANDMA came to visit us this weekend. We had lots of fun and ate lots of fresh fruit, vegies and homemade salsa. It was great and the kids were in heaven. She was able to go with us to Ty's Tball game and see what a nut Josh is. She and Brooklynn spent tons of time playing games and coloring. Joshy warmed up to her in record breaking time and I took a picture for proof. He has been very clingy lately, maybe this is a sign of getting over it. It was wonderful to have her with us. I always hate it when we have to say goodbye, we miss you Grandma, thanks for coming!!!

James or Mike?

So, this morning I pulled out some of my baby pictures and some of Steve's so that we could get a feel for where Josh fits into the pictures and as I thought he is a good combo of both of us. I first pulled out a pictures of me and Steve and I both thought our Tater looked a lot like it, then we came across one of him that Josh also looks like. He is definitely built just like Steve was, but then the classic moment came. I was flipping through the pics and came across the one posted above. Brooklynn was sitting next to me and asked, "Mommy is that daddy sitting on James lap?" We started laughing because we always say how much James looks like Mike, well Mike he looks enough like you that Brooks thought you were James. Here are the pictures.

Steve as a Baby

Alright this post is mostly for the Empey Family. I saw the pictures that Kayla posted of Chase and thought that it really looked like Steve's baby pictures. So I pulled out a few pictures of Steve at around 6 months old, a little younger than Chase, but I thought I would post them so that everyone can weigh in and see if they think that they look alike. So here they are, let me know what you think.

Strep Throat and Beautiful Flowers!

You have to love Strep Throat. After finding out that the Fever Brooklynn had on Sunday morning and then again on Sunday Night when it was 102.8 (in my opinion that is higher than I am comfortable with) was due to Strep Throat, I thought and hoped that I would not get it and that the boys would not get it. Well, after having a really bad headache and upset stomach all day, I decided to examine my own throat because it was starting to feel sort of scratchy. Indeed it looked a little funky so I trucked us all off to the Dr. again today and yep I have it. I only remember having Strep one other time in my life. It was over Christmas and we were going to Florida. Anyway, I am holding out that Ty and Josh won't get it, but who knows for sure.

On a lighter note, when I got home on Sunday night I noticed that my rose tree named 'First Prize' was in full bloom along with everything else around here. It is so beautiful, so I took some pictures of it. Enjoy!

'First Prize', I'm not sure why the kids call the tree that, I think it is the color of the flower or the name of this particular tree. The kids and Steve bought it and planted it last spring. Ty and Brookie on Easter

Brady making sure his money was in his pocket, you never know when you'll need some cash

Josh on Easter Sunday, this was the only picture I got with my camera because he was to busy exploring and being crazy.

The Freezer aka CHICAGO

I realize that I have not updated my blog in quite a long time. So now that I am at Julie's in Chicago, I figured it was a good time. We arrived here on Saturday and what an adventure I had. Steve, the kids and I flew to Salt Lake and then Steve had to head to Atlanta for work and me and the kids went on to Chicago. The trip was mostly uneventful. except that Josh didn't sleep a wink and was having fits and throwing soothers and blankets at people. Of course when we were ready to land, some sort of funky micro burst cloud or something planted itself right over the airport and we had to divert and fly around for another hour before we landed. Julie in the mean time thought I was lost in the deep dark trenches of the O'Hare airport because Delta kept telling her we had landed. Then, as we are getting off the plane we realize that they don't have a jetway for us, so we have to go down the stairs and then back up some stairs into the jet way. Under normal conditions not that big a deal, but at 10 pm in the pouring rain with no coats, big deal. Luckily I had a really nice flight attendant who was flying home helping me. So, I got to the bottom of the stairs and had to stand there and wait for my stroller, which ended up being at the top of the other stairs. Is this making any sense at all? I finally got up the stairs unfold my stoller and what rolls out, but my wheel. Yep, they broke the wheel right off my stroller. I was most annoyed and may have let a small swear escape my lips, I'm not saying I did, but I may have. Now what made it most annoying was that I had purchased the stroller the night before I left. So, there I was hauling me and my kids through the airport and pushing a stroller with three wheels. Oh the fun! We finally found Julie and got the luggage and filed a claim for the stroller, which of course was denied and off we went.

So, then the fun started the kids were most excited to see each other and I was most happy to see my sister. It has been since July that we last saw each other. On Sunday when we woke up I went in and said Hi to Brady and he immediately looked at Julie and asked to go to the zoo. He had been asking for days and she kept telling him that we would all go when I arrived. So, Monday morning, after getting a new stroller for me, we went to the zoo. The kids had a great time, the weather was nice and it was fun. We got to see a dolphin show, and then all the usual zoo animals. We had a lot of fun and made it home right as Jack arrived home from school.

Since Monday the tempurature has dropped and we are very cold! My California, wimpy kids, have not enjoyed the deep freeze. We did go bowling and then to the mall for a ride the carousel and Uncle TJ being the champion that he is took all the older monkey's to a movie! It has been wonderful to be here. We are looking forward to Coloring Easter Eggs this evening and just relaxing before we have to leave for home tomorrow, but we aren't talking about that.

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The video of TJ really needs no explanation, but I will say that after a couple of stressful days he needed to 'unwind.'

More TBall Pics

So, one of the moms from Ty's team took a bunch of pictures yesterday. I guess she is going to do this every week and then we can pick the ones we want from Costco photo. She took some great shots of Tyler, he was the lead off hitter, so the pictures turned out great! Enjoy!

I know it looks like it didn't go very far, but the ball kept moving.

The team. The 3rd kid from the left on the bottom is our coaches son. Brooklynn calls him 'Curvis' his name is Curtis.

OPENING DAY!

Well, today was the big Opening Day for Little League. Our little T-baller (thats Tyler) was most excited for today because that means more games and less practices. I was up nice and early (6:40, yes that is am) so that I could get all 3 kids ready and haul it off to the baseball park for the parade and the whole big exciting event! We arrived about 7:30, with McDonalds in tow for something to eat and got settled. Of course on the one day that I need my Josh to be the angel that he usually is, he wasn't. He was whiney and crying and complaining and on and on. But, I survived. Thankfully Ty's game was right after the ceremony so that I didn't have to go back over there later. He is number 3 on the White Sox this year. They played the A's, our friends little boy is on the A's. There are some pictures and video clips, the clips were just from my little camera. I did't have enough hands for the video camera this week.

All in all it was a great morning, but I have to say I can't wait to take a nap!

There are also some pics of Brooklynn's second fieldtrip to the firehouse. This time it actually worked and they got the full tour.

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Same Old Same Old

Well, I realize I have not posted in a long time. But really there is not a lot to post. I have been scrambling around, especially last week, trying to get ready for our 'Ward Auction' It is the Youth Fundraiser for our ward. I won't go into the details, but lets just say I am glad it is over and I am hoping that we will not do it next year. Now that it is over I have to dive into the whole Stake Girls camp thing. I have been asked to be a 'certification specialist.' And for all those who know about me and my LOVE of camping, YES it does mean I will have to go to girls camp. It should be fun, but I am still wondering why I agreed to it. I think I had a large moment of total insanity, oh well, at least it will be an adventure!

The kids are staying busy, we have the big OPENING DAY for little league this weekend. Tyler's team is the White Sox this year. He is most excited to start playing games.

Brooklynn is busy having a very bad day today. She is just a tornado of emotion and quite frankly it exhausts me. I have decided, as of about 4 hours ago, that I have a zero tolerance policy for her fits and outbursts. It is such a day to day thing and really I just need to work on my consistency with her. Surprisingly after a challenging day yesterday, at the dinner table she looked at me with her cutest face and said, "I want to be just like you when I grow up mom!" It was priceless and made me remember why I love her so much.

Josh is just funny! He is so much fun to have around and now that he is walking full time is into Brother and Sisters 'business' all the time. He is constantly drooling due to some more teeth coming in. He is also really into singing and dancing. He sways back and forth to any tune he hears and sometimes sings along with some 'da da da's' It is pretty funny!

Anyway, I guess that updates us.

THE HACK!

So after much consideration and thought, I decided to HACK OFF all my hair. And, so I did. Here are a few pictures. They aren't the best pictures, ignore all my zits and terribly pale face (boy I need a good tan), but the hair is short and cute and fun! Let me know what you think.

Funder and Firetrucks

This morning we were on our way to take Tyler to school and I mentioned to the kids that it would probably rain today. So, we dropped of Diddy and on the way back after much thought Brooklynn says, "There is Funder when it rains, right mom!" You have to love the "funder"

Anyway, so this morning for Preschool it was field trip day. And yep you guessed it we headed to the firestation. Well, as you are never sure what will transpire at a firestation, literally right when they opened the doors and we walked in they got a call. Well, we decided to wait because the firemen said to give them 15 -20 minutes and hopefully they would be back. So, we waited and sure enough back they came. When they opened up the doors we all piled inside for a tour and wouldn't ya know it they recieved another call for a fire this time. We watched them gear up and drive away again. Us parents determined not to wait this time and took off. I took a few pictures of our adventure.

Beach Fun!

We took a quick little trip down to see Ryan and Nicole this weekend. It was a very quick trip, but we had lots of fun visiting and even had an excursion to the beach. The kids all had a great time except for Josh, who wasn't a fan and fell asleep. Ryan and Steve also hit the golf stores. Brooklynn was a trooper because she wasn't feeling great, but still had lots of fun. She and Maren get along so well and played and played. It is nice that they are close, but I curse the traffic you have to endure to get to them.

Thanks for the fun guys! Sorry we didn't stay longer it isn't because we don't love you, we love you a lot! You are the best!