I want to remember....

I was reading back through my blog today and it was fun recalling some of the little things that I had completely forgotten. Some of the fun things the kids said and what was just going on in our life at the time so from now on I am going to try and record just some fun random things I want to remember....

The other day we were sitting at a stoplight in Sandy next to where some construction things were stored. There was a big machine... probably a road grater or something and Jack asked what it was. I began telling him it was a piece of construction equipment and that I thought it probably was used for smoothing out the roads when they were building them and I kept rambling trying to make it sound true. He sat there for a couple of seconds and then sighed and said " can you please remember where this is because I am going to ask Dad what it REALLY is." Apparently my answer wasn't quite technical or intelligent enough for his liking! Seriously this kid is getting far too grown up for his own good. And just for the record.... I do know a lot.... just not as much or as detailed as Ryan!

Yesterday we stopped at my brother Trevor's house to tell him Happy Birthday and to visit for a minute. My kids really love their Uncle Trevor but Ella couldn't quite remember his name so much to his dismay she just decided to call him Grandpa. All day today she has continued to talk about Aunt Mari and Grandpa so apparently she needs to go visit more often!

This weekend at the cabin Okie and Emma were there to play with the kids. They all had a great time but she also couldn't quite remember their names very well either. She settled for calling Emma "Honey" and Okie "Cokey" all weekend long. I think it is so cute when she calls everyone Honey because she doesn't really know their name!

Ahhh... and the dang snails are back.... they have completely eaten our pumpkin and cucumber we planted.... NO MORE me being nice and feeling sorry for the snails. I am off to the store to buy some snail killer!

This week is Jacks last week of preschool. I read back my post about the first few days of taking him to school and having to drag him out of the car and I had a good laugh. He has grown SO much this year and has learned SO much! He has thoroughly enjoyed school and I think he is really going to miss it this summer! We had a parent teacher conference last week and she said how well behaved, wonderful and smart he is. I was a little relieved because I wasn't 100% convinced I was going to get such a good report! We are excited for the lazy days of summer but I am going to miss those couple hours a week of only having one child to drag around!

And speaking of looking back.... I never realized how much hair Ella didn't have and how funny she looked! Oh my goodness she looked funny... SO glad that it is starting to grow... slowly but surely!

We always teasingly ask Jack if we should have another baby.... he always says yes and that we need to name it Sil da Sil. Don't have ANY idea where that name has come from and how he always remembers it and says it exactly the same EVERY time. No this is in no way an announcement that little Sil Da Sil is joining our family anytime soon but I just think it's funny that he came up with that name on his own and consistently remembers it!

They are full of it and it is always so fun to hear what they will come up with next!

IF IT DOESN'T STOP RAINING SOON....

Seriously, I know I complain about this every year but I am SOOOOO ready for the weather to be nice again. I will even take it still being chilly but PLEASE rain GO AWAY! We are so tired of being cooped up and ready to be able to play outside with friends!
In the meantime... this is what is happening while we are cooped up inside....




A LOT of pouting...
Lots of cartoon watching... (and jumping on the bed!)
And my personal favorite.... Jack joining his sister in playing dressup! He did ask me first if I had any boy dress ups but since I didn't he used what we had!

Isn't she so fancy?!?

They crack me up and are very entertaining but we REALLY need to get out of this house soon!

Maybe since we are stuck inside and I have updated the blog and started the laundry now I think I will plan a vacation to somewhere warm and sunny or do some online shopping... For the sake of Ryan's wallet... lets pray for some sunshine!

Ice Cream... You Scream

We went to ColdStone the other night and ordered WAY too much ice cream so I brought the leftover home for the kids the next day. Since there was only one they had to share and yes there was some screaming over the ice cream! They did pretty good sharing but as soon as Jack walked away Ella quickly grabbed his spoon and began shoving it in as quickly as she could!



(Notice the spoon in each hand!)

Playdate

One of the nicer days last week we had some friends over to play while Michelle and I worked on our cards for this month. It was fun to watch Ella play with girls and it was good to see that she did indeed have a girly side! They helped her get all dressed up so that she could be Princess Lella (that's what she calls herself)and she tromped around in her high heels right along with the other girls! They are so good with her and she loves to play with them!

Snails... GROSS!

In the spring we always have a serious snail problem. Jack and Ryan usually take care of them by throwing them at the fence but it always makes me feel bad for the snails! A few weekends ago my sister and her kids stayed the weekend with us and I put the kids to work. It was still chilly out so I bundled them all up, gave them some bowls and told them to go gather snails. After they had gathered all they could find I told them to take them down by the pond and let them out at their new home. Before letting them all go they decided to have a snail race. By the time they were done they had gathered probably close to 100 snails. Those little things are so nasty and gross but it provided several hours of entertainment for the kids which I also throughly enjoyed!

This kid was FILTHY after her hours of playing outside but she had a great time and loves playing with her cousins!

Golfing

They boys also went out for a round of golf this weekend with Jack in tow. I am sure he slows them down just a bit (okay a lot) but he feels so grown up and special when he hangs out with the boys! (And he learns a lot of new tricks and words from his days out with the boys too!) Luckily Uncle Cory took a picture of him for me so when he becomes the next professional golfer we can show just how young he got started!

One Fish... Two Fish...

This time they were successful and the mighty fishermen brought home some dinner!

Ryan and Jack along with Uncle Cory and Cody headed out Saturday morning for a day of fishing. They had MUCH better luck this go round than the previous time we tried to go fishing. They came home smelling especially stinky but with several big trout in tow! They fried some up for Sunday dinner and then we sent the leftovers on to Grandpa Frisby and there were A LOT of them because it was only Ryan who ate any of it! Nate tried and tried to get Jack and Ella to at least taste it but it was a no go. Well until Uncle Nate tricked Jack and shoved some in his mouth. He promptly spit it right back at him- which I don't blame him because I would have done the exact same thing! They had a great time together and can't wait to go again!

First Fish of the Season

Last night Ryan loaded up the kids and headed to the pond to do some fishing. I went for a small run and then met them over there to help out. They were doing pretty well when I got there but quickly things started going downhill. (pictures are off the cell phone so they aren't the best quality!)

This is where things went downhill.... Jack fell in the pond and got his pants soaking wet and his fishing pole was floating away. He got out of the water looked at me with his lip quivering and said "how did I get in there?" I just laughed because I honestly had no idea how he managed to fall into the water!

This was the only catch of the night and the hook caught him on his side instead of in his mouth so we were lucky we even got anything! Ella didn't care about how big it was... she was so excited and quickly voiced her displeasure when we had to put it back in the water!

While I was checking out the fish Jack decided he wasn't going to wear his wet pants anymore and took them off... not a big deal.... except apparently he didn't find it necessary to wear underwear today! So needless to say.... these little buns had to head home pretty quickly after his dip in the pond!

(BTW... he is picking up a rock not taking care of business!) :)

Ella

My beautiful big brown eyed baby girl is the sweetest thing I have ever known. She is definitely my baby and will always be. I don't even know how to describe how sweet she is but she is such a sweetheart. Maybe because her big brother is such a WILD CHILD it makes her look especially sweet but she really is. She loves to grab me by the face with her sweaty dirty hands and pull me towards her and kiss me on the lips all day everyday. She does the same thing when she wants ALL my attention and I am not giving it to her. She will pull our faces close together so I have no other choice but to listen to what she is saying 100%! She LOVES her Jacker Man and although he is mean to her she misses him when he isn't around. When she wakes up from her nap and he is still sleeping she tries to go pound on his door until he wakes up! She is my tomboy who loves shooting things with Jack and playing with all sorts of boy toys. I have been trying to introduce some "girlie" things to her and show her how girl toys can be fun too but we are making little progress! I bought her 2 princess wands last weekend at a yard sale and they quickly turned into swords and guns and have gotten a lot of use by her and Jack.

She is such a lovey and and always wants to call Grandma Rosie and Boppy on the phone. She spends hours talking to them on the phone and the conversation is always the same thing about seeing Shamu and making him splash! Jack was completely potty trained by this age but she has almost zero interest in learning how to use the potty! A time or two she has "accidentally" went in the potty when I have had her sitting there but for the most part she is not interested. It wouldn't be any kind of big deal to keep her in a diaper if she would keep the dang thing on. One minute I will have her completely dressed and the next minute she will be streaking through the house in her birthday suit!

She talks SO much and it is cute some of the things she comes up with. At the store no matter what the gender the cashier is she always tells them "thank you much lady!" We get a lot of giggles out of people with that one. People always ask me how old she is because she talks a lot but she is such a little peanut without much hair so she looks way too little to have such a good vocabulary!
My least favorite thing about this stage is that she is now getting an opinion about what she wants to wear each day. She goes to the closet and tries to pick out what she is going to wear. I am not ready to give her that choice yet so some days it is a struggle. If she had a choice it would be everyday that she wore either her "strawberry" shirt or her "fish" dress. I have though been a little bit more lax about her footwear selection so we can often be seen sporting her black rain boots with many different outfits, rain or shine! :)

I just love her so much and I am enjoying every minute of having a little girl to spoil!

Jack

(He looks so sad in this picture- But I still love it!)
I just wanted to write down a few things that I want to remember about my Jacker man and what he is doing at this age! He is so fun and funny and keeps us on our toes all the time. He LOVES school and I don't know what we are going to do this summer to keep us busy. He asks every day if it is a school day and then if it is he immediately asks the next question of "is Grandma picking me up?" So I am not entirely convinced if it is school he loves or the fact that Grandma spoils him and picks him up from school most days and then they go off to play. He LOVES his Grandma Nette. Those two have a special bond and she can get him to do anything without a fit and he actually behaves for her. Ella and I really also enjoy our special time while Jack is at school and hanging out with Grandma! He says the funniest things and I try to keep a straight face at the ones that aren't so appropriate. The other night Ryan and I were having a "discussion" in the car and Jack and Ella both were watching Scooby Doo and we didn't think they were even listening when Jack piped up from the back seat "You both need to CALM down!" We just looked at each other and laughed and it definitely "calmed" us both down!

He always asks me if different words are okay to say. My favorite is when he serious as can be asks me if "What the Hell" is a good thing to say?!? (Thanks Nate for teaching him that wonderful phrase!) He and I butt heads so much and somedays I swear I am going to pull my hair out and then other times he is so sweet and will come and ask me "Where do you want me to rub you?" Then he will sit by me and rub my back or leg or feet for a few minutes and then he will look at me and tell me "that's enough!" Yesterday (day after Mother's Day) he told me about ten times "Happy Mother's Day" but the last time he did it he said "Mom, how many more days do I have to say Happy Mother's Day?" So I let him off the hook and he didn't have to say it to me anymore. The biggest thing that has changed in the last several months about Jack is that he now EATS and EATS. Since having his tonsils out he is a completely different boy when it comes to eating. Before tonsil surgery he was basically on a liquid diet and I couldn't get him to eat anything. Now, he eats and eats and eats. Every 30 minutes he tells me he is hungry and will actually eat when I serve him something. He is packing on the pounds and it is so cute to see him start to actually chunk up a bit! He is always looking for something "fun" to do and if I don't keep him busy his activity of choice becomes pestering his sister as much as he can. So, needless to say I try to keep us busy and on the go so we can keep his pestering to a minimum!

He is my sweet baby boy and although he is full of spunk and definitely a handful I don't know what we would do without his antics that keep us busy all day everyday!

This is bad... REALLY bad!

I was on the phone last night and as usual Jack starts screaming at me the minute I try to start talking to someone on the phone. And this wasn't just a casual conversation with someone I know so I tried to ignore him for several minutes. He continued to scream my name up the stairs and I politely (as I had someone else on the phone) told him to wait just a minute and I would be right there. I continued with my phone call for another minute before Jack made his way up to find me and he said "MOM, This is bad.... REALLY bad." Now he had my attention!

He continues on with "Ella took her pants off, AND she is playing in her poop!" Yep, he definitely had my attention now. I quickly said I would call the person back I was talking to and RAN down the stairs to find Ella sure enough sitting quietly watching Strawberry Shortcake while painting her legs with poo.

No, I didn't take a picture but I think you can basically put one together in your head! What am I going to do with this child???? And yes, IT WAS BAD.... REALLY BAD!

My 2 Boys

I should have known this would happen... my little princess that I always wanted is the biggest TOMBOY ever! She prefers to wear Jack's clothes around the house (which she puts on herself because I won't put them on for her) and couldn't care less about baby dolls and princesses. She would much rather "shoot" things with Jack or "bam" things with her hammer than to sit down and play something girly. I can quickly see my dreams of me and my little princess hanging out fading away to her going hunting and camping with her dad and brother..... Oh dear!