AZ Rattler's Game

Please don't throw rotten tomatoes at me. I haven't updated this darn blog in forever. 
But, that means I have tons of pictures and tons of good stuff to share! 

Starting with a trip to an AZ Rattlers game. This was way back in the beginning of May (yes, I'm way behind.)

 We didn't stay for the whole game because one-year-olds and a 3-year-olds turn in to monsters when the clock strikes 8.

 We enjoyed our view from the nosebleed seats.  It was great!

Simon was ready to leave as soon as we sat down. It was ear splitting a teensy bit loud.

Good times. Looks like we won't be going back until the kids are older and can handle the noise and staying up past sundown.

{ To Be a Mother }

(I posted this on my Cantaloupe Corner blog but I feel it is even more fitting for my personal blog. )

I am one of the lucky moms.

No, lucky isn't the right word. I'm am very blessed.


I was able to quit my day job when my first little one came along.

My mom stayed home with me and my 6 siblings.

I am forever greatful for a mother that was willing to stay home to teach us and help us grow. Her time is worth more than any other gift she could ever have given us.

I always wanted to be like her and stay home with my kids.

(Here' my mom and dad. Aren't they cute?!)

The first few months after my first son was born I was restless.

I was full of new mom joy and postpartum depression, and I was so used to having a task list, a pile of papers to file, or clients to call. Now I was living on my babies schedule: feeding, changing, feeding, rocking, feeding.

It was emotionally draining and physically exhausting.

I spent nights in tears wishing for sleep but accepting the fact that if the baby didn't sleep, neither did I.

I knew that being a mom was going to be the best and hardest job I would ever have. No one ever told me how much my emotions would be entwined with my new little stranger.

Having a baby is like having your heart outside of your body.

Now I have 2 amazing, smart, sweet little boys that I love so dearly! I know that God gives us children so that we can catch a glimpse of how much he loves us. It is vibrant, universe altering, and unconditional!

As mother's day is this weekend I thank my Father in Heaven that I get to be a mom.

I don't want a day of pampering , flowers, or breakfast in bed.

I want to spend mother's day being a mom: Reading stories, kissing owies, playing trains, singing songs, eating cookies and milk.

I want a day filled with horsey rides and tickle fights, sticky hands, chocolate faces, and sandy feet.

I just want to be a mom.

Happy Mothers Day to all of you AMAZING MOMS! You are doing a great and important work!

Enjoy your children while they are small because "the handprints get higher and higher and then one day they disappear. "

Boy: n., A noise with dirt on it

I don't know why I try to keep them clean. Our boys are such. . . BOYS!
I gave in one day to Simon's request to make a "river" in our sandbox. I didn't realize he would build the Mississippi!

My one request was to not get "too"wet. In a 3 year old's mind there is no shuch thing as too wet.

The boys had a blast making their lake, aka "river" and splashing each other until they were completely soaked.

I think it's time to get out the wading pool and sprinkler.

 

I really love these boys. I know I'm their mother and I'm supposed to love them, but really I do!

Simon is smart as a whip. He surprises me a lot lately by reading words off of signs while we are driving down the road. He also has the most amazing memory. He tells me stories from a year ago or longer that even I had forgotten. And he always starts out his stories something like this. "Mom, four years ago. . ."

Sorry kiddo, you weren't alive 4 years ago. ha ha.

Si has also started using the computer. We bought him a kindergarten workbook that came with a game CD-ROM. It's really old school games but he LOVES it! It has a program like paint where he can draw and paint his own pictures. And he loves the dot-do-dot game. I'm so impressed with how quickly he picks up the games! Also, he helps me tell stories at bed time. What an imagination the kid has! Usually the story involves trains somehow but sometimes he surprises me with a story about a snail or a silly monster. Love it!  

Ryan has become a fun loving and adventurous little toddler. He never sits still and is always looking for new things to do (and new ways to bug his brother). He has become a little parrot, repeating the words that we say. My favorite words he says right now: spoon, bye daddy, movie, hee-haw (donkey sound), pizza, nana (banana).

He still is very attached to his family and has had a really hard time going to nursery on Sundays. When we walk by the nursery room he cries like I just pinched him. Last week Simon got to give the scripture in Primary so I had to leave Ryan in nursery, crying or not.

Simon did so well on his scripture, he even had it memorized and he got to show off to his aunts and grandpa later that day.

Ryan also loves to play at the park. I just have to keep and extra close eye on him because his curiosity tends to lead him straight to the road. (eek!) He also just learned how to go down the slide by himself on his tummy or sitting up. He used to go down head first! This boy has no fear! His other favorite thing to do is read. Any time, anywhere. His favorite books are about animals and big trucks. He especially likes fire engines.

There is nothing more fulfilling than seeing my two boys growing up together and becoming friends. They fight all the time, but that is just part of being brothers. I can't imagine my life without my two little sweethearts. I live for the innocent sparkle in their eyes and messy chocolate ice cream smiles, the hand-prints on the glass door and hot wheels in my bed, expensive shampoo bubble bath, and water on the kitchen floor because they were helping with the dishes.

God sends us these children so we can learn what real unconditional love is.

Mr. Independent

Some of my motherly worries have been put at ease. I now know that if Ryan is left alone he will still be able to feed himself.

He has become a pro at finding treats and getting them down all by himself, even if I think I put them out of his reach.

Catch up!

To all of you avid readers out there (all 3 of you), I have to apologize for completely neglecting my blog. I have no excuses, well I do, but you don't want to hear them. So now I have over a month of fun stuff to catch up on.

Just before V-day in Feb we got to go to 2 birthday parties in one day. One was for Maddy, Jeremiah's cousin's daughter. I guess that would make she and Simon 2nd cousins? or something like that?

Anyways. I LOVE this first picture. The pretty princesses, the heart, the lovely pink frillies. . . and the boy with the baseball bat contemplating how he's going to smash it all to smithereens!Si got to toss around a football with his cousins and Ryan stayed busy by being superhumanly strong on the playground ramp. The ramp was slippery so he couldn't walk up or even crawl up like a normal kid does.No, he drug his little self all the way up the ramp multiple times using just his little fingers that fit perfectly into the little holes in the ramp. That's my boy! He's as headstrong as his mom. 

 

W enjoyed good food and great company and Maddy got tons of girly gifts, like the ever coveted Barbie Mustang. All Ryan wanted was cupcakes.

Jeremiah really hates when I take his picture. Hence the "don't you dare" smile.

Here's cute lil' Maddy, the Birthday Girl! She is only 4 months older than Simon. They had so much fun playing together, as long as it didn't have to do with girly stuff. (Although I think he wouldn't mind playing with  the Barbie Mustang.)

Ryan got candy from the pinata. No one told him you have to unwrap it first.

That night we took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese for the utimate 8 year olds Birthday Party for this guy:Everett.

I wish I would have taken more pictures of this night. The kids wore themselves out running around playing every game at least five times. The favorite seemed to be the popcorn popper game. If you haven't played it you might want to go to Chuck E. Cheese for you next party.

We also made a trip up the mountains the last weekend of February. Everett had his baptism that weekend and Jeremiah was to give a take and do the confirmation. We got to the Hall's house just in time to get ready. I was the last one in the house and Jeremiah came back in with a worried look on his face. "What's wrong" I said. "This" he said. And he proceded to turn around and bend over. I was very confused until I realized that he had a huge rip in the crotch of his pants. He had ripped his pants when he was getting into the car. Being away from home with no one around that wears a size close to his, he had no choice but to change into his worn blue jeans. He was very upset at first but it worked out well because he was able to work his mismatching pants into his baptism talk! He's super cool like that.

Then: Booga Reds 

Simon's extra long straw

The handsome man of the hour: Everett, and his sidekick Ezra. (I have such cute nephews and neices)

And while we were there, it snowed! It was so beautiful but I wanted to hit the road early so we wouldn't get stuck in Round Valley. This pic is the field next to my parents house in Eagar.

It was big fluffy snow, my favorite!

On the way home we detoured through Superior. I love driving though these little AZ towns. You don't realize what gems there are hiding inside these towns. (If you get a chance, drive through the back roads of Globe! They have some crazy giant hills that I would never want to face on a snowy day. Good thing it rarely snows there. )

This is one of the cool buildings we found in Superior.

And this looks like an old mining building. I'll have to look up this town and see what history lies behind these buildings.

The best part of the drive home:

Random waterfalls coming down right next to the road between globe and Superior. This is the only shot I got but there must have been at least a dozen others. It was breathtaking. And to add to the dramatics, the whole area was blanketed in a light fog. Stunning!

What else happened this month? Simon tried to flush the entire roll of toilet paper down the toilet. I understand that it is a right of passage for kids to try this at least once but. . . .

Lucky for my Jeremiah did the dirty work. And I mean Dirty work! But after that our bathroom shined like new.

So there's our month of February in a nutshell.

Simon Says. . .

I know I'm a month behind on blogging. . . updates are coming! I promise!

Anyways, I had to share some "Simon Says" comments from today.

Simon lost his soda cup this morning. We rarely ever drink soda so when he gets some it's a big treat. He misplaced his cup and confronted me about it and asked me where I put his cup. When I told him that I didn't know where it was, his reply was:

"Maybe my soda cup turned into a little mouse and ran away."

Then he got out some construction paper and scissors and made me the cutest little card. When he brought it to me he was explaining what the "message" on the front of the card said.

"Mom, I spelled your name. It has a silent U in it."