"The Farmer in the Soup"

We have been reading a lot of books, getting in good reading these days... Lynn wants to be primed for Kindergarten. Today we read, "The Farmer in the Soup". It's about a farmer who did nothing but complain about everything his wife did, and said she "had it easy". So, they switched places, and he soon discovered, it wasn't "that easy", and he was grateful for what she did everyday, he grew to be appreciative. That was after she had done a half day of his work and cleaned up the messes he created trying to do her work...
So it led to interesting dinner discussion...
I have always been thankful that Mer has such a strong work ethic, it does help that it is the family business and that one day it will be the kids' responsibility, so he wants to take care of it now, so there will be something later... but he is that way about everything.
When we were dating, talking about what we wanted in life. we were both on the same page when it came to who would do what. He wanted a stay-at-home mother for his kids, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
We fit.
Heavenly Father answered my prayers, prayers that went up every night for years, to find this guy.
We support each other.
While some days he may not be excited about what the day will have in store for him, he goes to work, for us.
Some of those days, the girls and I get done what needs to be done, and then we do a lot of playing. He isn't ornery about it, in fact, he told me that he's thankful it is the way it is. He never complains, he praises me for some of the littlest stuff, stuff that really doesn't affect him. It could be a bow or bracelet I have made, but it's for his girls, it makes him happy.
He teases me about my "crap-booking", but then tells me how awesome it is that I document everything for the girls, sometimes 3 or 4 of the same layout, so everyone can have it... and he encourages me.
I love him for that. Because of him, I have fulfilled my biggest dreams, being his wife and a mother to his girls....
I love that tonight, after playing on the trampoline with the girls, singing songs, and being silly, Lynn says to me, "Mom, I am glad I have a mom like you."
It's because she has the greatest dad, even though he called me "a fizzle"...

Spanky's Favorite: Marshmallow Brownies

Marshmallow Brownies

1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl. In another bowl, melt butter in microwave. Add sugar and vanilla. Pour in with dry ingredients and add eggs. Mix well, but not too much, should still be lumpy. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. After baking them, turn oven off so it is still warm. Arrange mini marshmallows in a single layer on top of the brownies and put pan back in oven long enough for the marshmallows to melt. Remove from oven and let cool. Frost with favorite chocolate frosting.

I'm a "fizzle" fo' shizzle my nizzle....

Thanks for the help on my post title, Brookers...
Explanation of the word "fizzle"...
The other night at Mer's parent's, his dad busts out this album of his latest favorite pics. We are looking through them, there are pics of Mer-Bear when he was a young little chap, pics of some of their fishing trips, and pics of the other kids when they were little... then, there is our wedding day...Dixon: "Oh... son, do you remember that day?"
Mer: "Yeah..."
Dixon: "You do huh?"
Mer: "Yup... that's when Min was smokin' hot."
Me: "Was?"
Mer: "Yeah... now you are just hot... maybe just a "fizzle" now."
You can imagine the rest of that exchange. Dixon thought it was entertainingly funny. That is our relationship, tease, tease, tease. (Refer to the "Homer in a mu-mu comment.) Ah, I know he does love me... no hard feelings.
So, among other things...
You can't get anything done for you around this house unless you are Clint, or if it benefits Clint.
Example:Clint came over yesterday. We were trying to be hospitable and offered him something to drink. We went downstairs, the drink stayed up stairs. Once realized, Merrill asked Lynn to go and get Clint's drink. She immediately runs off. She gets back and Mer asks her if she'll go and get his too. Silence. No running off. Blank stares. I go and get it.
We had a good time at the Elder's BBQ. I want more fun times like that. Except the part where no bathrooms at the bowery is involved. That wasn't fun...We enjoyed the South Ogden days fireworks display from the InstaCare's little yard. I was so excited to be there without needing to pay out the nose for one of my kiddos! And who should show up to watch there too? The Dr. who tells me to get rid of the trampoline... nut-job.
The girls were having fun, running around and playing, picking these little flowers in the grass while we waited for dark to arrive. Lynn kept doing "the potty dance", with no bathroom around. So I offered her Christie's solution, go in the car in a diaper. She wasn't going for it. She and Ash wanted to be near Clint, shadowing his every move. So we just let them enjoy. After the fireworks display had concluded, Lynn was near tears. I asked her what was the matter, thinking that maybe she had an accident. She told me that I was going to be mad. So I convinced her to tell me, I wouldn't be mad. She said that she put something in her ear. So she learned her lesson second-hand from Ash to NOT put things in her NOSE, but apparently, and EAR is perfectly acceptable... Mer was livid. We were trying to clarify exactly what she had put in her ear. She told us a little white thing, a flower?
"No it's soft and squishy..." she said.
Clint solved the mystery by telling us that she had been playing with some styrofoam.
Ah-hah!
She sobbed the whole way home, me trying to reassure her that everything would be okay, but I was not going to the ER tonight, and Merrill letting her have it. I told him to calm down, she felt bad enough as it was, and he said, "Well I learned, after being humiliated, to not do things again."
"Well stop humiliating her! Getting her upset is not helping... and look what you turned out to be after being humiliated..." see, I get em in when I can...Needless to say, we stayed-up well after midnight, trying to get styrofoam out of an ear.
We prayed first, trying to teach her about faith, and set to work doing everything that I could think of. Nasal aspirator + water. Nope. Turning up-side down + shaking. Nope. Bobby pin. Nope. So, we tried to educate ourselves online. First of all, here's the "don'ts": don't use water to flush objects out of the ear. Don't use a bobby pin. Don't put anything else in the ear, trying to get the object out. Don't shake a child. Don't hit the head. Yeah, so my "common sense ideas"... not the safest. Some other ideas we tried: baby oil. Nope. Soaking her head in the tub, to try to get it our and to wash off the baby oil ;). Nope. So I told Lynn that sometimes, Heavenly Father's answer is to just relax, we don't have to work ourselves to death to solve a problem. Sometimes we just need time to think of a better solution. We read a book together and went to bed, her hoping that it would just fall out onto her pillow. Besides, online it also said that if bleeding, pain, or hearing loss weren't present, don't worry about it.
This morning, nothing. I had her draw me a pic of how big the piece of styrofoam was. She drew me her ear canal, and a little circle, where she thought it was stuck. Online forums taught her something else... when else would a five-year-old learn about an ear canal?
Did church, did Clint's homecoming, he was awesome.... talked about Faith of all things... Went out to mom's for her birthday. We told her the latest saga of a small object lodged in a facial orifice. She got it out with an ear cleaner. That good ol' grammy... really, she's 55 now... senior citizen discount and all to prove the ol' part...
Bummer comes in when we aren't gong camping as early this week as we thought... the camp we have, for the first couple of days, is a wee bit too close to the rushing river, a hazard for our sweet small children, all of the small objects that can fit in facial orifices is more of a hazard for my sweet ones though... anywhoo... won't be going until later...

Flashback Friday...

This is what else I have been gearing-up for... Clint and Camping rule our world these days.
We have a family tradition, (my side of the fam... I don't think Darlene would enjoy this tradition...) to go camping at our stake camp, usually over the 4th.
This layout is from 2005. We always have such a good time. The girls love going too. Sleeping in the tent, roasting marshmallows, playing in the river, going on treasure hunts, catching a glimpse of deer, squirrels, raccoons... all of it. Mer and I enjoy going shooting when we can. Merrill mostly loves the "nightlife" as he would call it. Everything around the fire, and sleeping in the tent when our airbed is inflated perfectly, and I have picked a nice spot for our tent, not slanted, rocky, and in the shade. Yeah, I deal with him up there too ;) But our family's favorite, and this is bad, is a good thunderstorm when we are there... dangerous, yes, exciting too!

Just a wee bit excited...

The girls were just a little excited that Uncle Clint came home last night. The whole way down to the airport, they were chanting, "Clint's comin' home! Clint's comin' home!" Mer and I couldn't help but grin at each other.
We got to the airport in the nick of time, right when we got there, Clint was there...
Lynn made him a card and a fierce hug, Ash was shy, and Peyton just grinned, then prompty slobbered on his neck.We taped this on the drive home... **warning to all other uncles: Lynn really loves you too, Clint is just the newest and most exciting thing in her world right now.
We went to the house and waited for him to get there. We had to wait for him to be released by the Stake President, and get some Wendy's of course. We stayed up there pretty late, late enough that to him, it was 6:30 am, to us 11:30 pm. We had family prayer as a whole family.
We are so thankful that all went well for him, that his mission was such a good experience for him, that he was safe, that he traveled safely... Heavenly Father has answered many prayers these last two years... we've been very blessed.
Now the girls are plotting everything that they want to show him or tell him, like he's going to vanish...

South Ogden Days '08

These fun and busy days of summer... I love it.

Today, we went out to get more ribbon... Ally, watch your mailbox... and we went to the activity days girls service car wash. We got soo much more than just a clean car, we got snow cones and a fun playtime complete with blow-up water slide, trampolines, a hammock, and swingset. It was so much fun. Those girls did a good job on my car too. There was either a big bird, or a bird with an exceptional amount of poop in it's bowels that did a number on the side of my car.. now it's gone!
Speaking of poop... :) with all of the in and out of the house kind of activities going on around here, the flies sneak right in. The girls are terrified, they think that the flies are going to eat them, or kill them, or both... So we taught them, quite correctly, that flies only eat poop. So the other night, a fly got into their room. Daddy was the hero, good thing too, because according to Ash, the fly was going to fly up her nose and get into her brain and kill her...
Another night, another fly, and this time Lynn was terrified. When I asked her what there was to be afraid of, she answered, "I am afraid it's going to fly down my shorts, into my butt, and eat my poop." She was seriously scared.
Ooohhh......
Back to my fun day...
Finished making my "curly bows"... the girls are wearing them in the pics. Then we were off to get some KFC (yum...) and go to the parade for South Ogden days. Both Kaitlyn and MiKell were in it for Bonneville. Kaitlyn with Lakettes, and Spanky with the Cheerleaders. Needless to say, we got a lot of candy. Still haven't finished the candy from Terrace Days or our primary party.
Had quite the curb crowd too. The usual suspects, Stacy, and Brooke's family who are in town. The more the merrier!
The kids were all so cute together. They are such buddies. We just hope that someday, Lynn and Ash, and Pax and "Dub", realize they really are related. They are quite lovey with each other. Ash told us that she and Wyatt kissed. Hmmm.. Lynn and Paxton just share everything and have to be near each other.
We had to go for a swim after this, for we were all terribly hot! (love the dramatics...) Ash fell in love with the diving board... and then to home for baths and bedtime books. They are all out... with a day like that, I should be too. But I am way too excited!!! Clint comes home tomorrow!!!
Oh, residual "Dan in Real Life" stuff... tell Randy (Christie) that now I am hunting down that music to have as a ring tone... see what he's done!?
I also tried the technique that a lady in our ward uses with her daughter who enjoys, or should I say can't stop, tattling. She gives her daaughter two tattles a day. That's it. I am so sick of Lynn tattling about EVERYTHING, that I tried it. I was generous and gave her three.... they were gone by 9:30 this morning.

Do you think that Clint will come and see me now?

You know what happens when you assume...
But this is what Clint always pick out and eat when ever I got candy bars...
We are ready for you to come home now!!!

This is too funny...

Can you tell we are all busy moms?
We are all bloggin at 11:30 at night!
Ahhhh... gotta love it.
I just got a funny spam-mail: "Mindy, Do you want to FIRE YOUR BOSS?"
I was laughing a bit too hard at that... maybe cause I am loopy tired...

"Crafternoon"

Crafternoon was a success! While I know this picture doesn't necessarily represent "crafternoon"... it is one of the things that went on here today...I haven't finished my curly bows that Christie so generously and expertly taught us how to make. I will post a pic later... We got a lot of headbands made!!! Anyone have a final count?
We'll be doing it again!

Dan In Real Life....

...or should we call it: "Could be Merrill in Real Life"?
We thought this movie was cute and funny... and Merrill thought, at times, this was too close to home for him. He told me I had better not go dying on him... he couldn't do this by himself.
So now let me explain...
Dan has 3 daughters (hmmm... sounds familiar...). His wife has passed away (not so familiar..). The daughters ages are (roughly) 17, 15, & 10... Lynn is 5, Ash 3, and Peyton 4 months (kinda similar spacing, eh?). So these daughters were going through all of the girl stuff, thongs, boys, stuff dads just aren't hip to. Merrill did not like the reminder that his girls would someday be putting him through similar situations.
The part where the daughter yells, "You are a murderer of LOVE!!!", Mer said: "The sad thing is that I can hear Lynn saying the same thing to me."
While I was laughing at parts in the movie, he was telling me that it really wasn't funny, it was scary, this was going to happen to him, his girls were going to have times in their lives when they just won't like him very much.
He made me promise that I wouldn't "go dying" on him.

throw it back like clint...

our countdown challenges have been fun...
yesterday was the day to say, "love you bye..." at the end of EVERY phone call... i talked only to mer, who i always say that to, and jacks... i messed-up and had to say it when i next talked to her...
today was to throw back your sacrament water like it's a shot, like clint would... mer remembered. i was preoccupied with the young-uns and forgot...

My camera is dead...

I had some fun pics to post, but my camera battery is dead, okay, charging, so this might not be an exciting post...
Merrill began tearing up the deck last night, for some reason, it didn't look good. Hmmm... I do believe I told him 5 years ago to ditch the idea of "outdoor carpet", astro-turf to the rest of us, and trex out the deck, you know, save us. Save us from what we are now doing... tearing it up to quite possibly trex it. So now I have a big 'ol hole in my deck.
Today Ash was on one. She was spouting out movie lines all day long. Two that I can immediately recall:
"Mom, those are some pretty nice glass slippers you have there..." from one of those darn princess movies... Enchanted, maybe?
And the other one popped-out during sacrament meeting, after I had told her to be quiet... "Ow! Where is a camcorder when you need it?!" From "The Mask".
Another fav from "The Mask": when I bumped into her at lunch, "Hey... watch it chunky!" So if she happens to say that choice one to anybody, don't take it personally, blame Jim Carrey.
Sunday went pretty smoothly. The only way it could have gone better was if Peyton hadn't done her "early bird" thing again. She has been waking up around 6 am to eat, and then play. She has spoiled me by always sleeping in, so have the other two. 8 am is about the time this family is up and going. 6 am not so great for me. I should take total advantage and start getting my run in again. Oh, my size 12's are falling off :). I can slide them off without un-doing them... woo hoo!
Went to Randee's birthday BBQ that Kev planned, so cute of him! The girls had fun.
The only other thing going on of note here is that the girls are eating their weight in otter pops, and Pey thinks it is hilarious when you make a fart sound and blame it on her saying, "Oh! Peyton!!" Yeah, that gets some laughs.
Maybe tomorrow I'll post some pics. Got some good ones of the hotel... off to watch "Dan in Real Life"... thanks Christie and Randy!

bracelets!

And a necklace too... I got free cultured freshwater pearls with my last Firemountain order.I made bracelets for the girls with these butterfly cut Swarovski crystals...

Flashback Friday...

Summers past.....Merrill, his brother and sister, and their Ronnow cousins.... 1983.
Today, 25 years later... Merrill's kids and his cousin's kids, playing together!
Kysa...
Lynn & Ash...
For even more pictures of our fun day, go here... a person from the paper showed-up, twice.. the kids posed to perfection, and Stac and I got in a few too. Brooklyn might be front page news, he was so small and cute! There is a cute one of Pax and Lynn together. Kysa didn't seem to care for it... Pey loved splashing her feet. Ash ate it pretty hard and it took her a while to get over it, but had some more wet fun.
This place has a couple of fun names: the spray-ground, splash pad...
We sure had a fun day... we'll be back!
Thanks Stac for getting us out of the house! The girls can't wait to play with their cousins again! Hopefully next time it won't be as emotional getting them out of the house... and we can be on time!

Keepin' up with the countdown...

So today, there are 6 days left until Clint comes home.
Everyday there is a new challenge on our countdown chain... Wednesday's was to wave at our local Wendy's, which we did on our way out to the aquatic center. We warned them that Clint would soon be here wanting his spicy chicken combo...
Yesterday we related favorite stories of Clint... fine customer service skills, singing to his nieces, Lake Powell trips...
And today... the challenge was to listen to six of Clint's favorite songs or songs that remind us of Clint.
Our playlist included more than six, but when going through my Dell to find six, I found so many more! Some are Clint's favs, others remind me of him, in a case or two, just a few words remind me of something he might say or do...
Ben Kweller- Wasted But Ready
Cursive- Gentleman Caller
Interpol- NYC
Old Canes- Early Morning Hymns
Take The Fall- Cast Away
Brobecks- Cowboy Song
Libertines- Boys In The Band
Strokes- Last Night

Peyton rocked-out to Libertines... the only way she knows how.
I think the rest of the fam was too... you can hear Merrill sing until he realizes that I am taping.

summer fun...

we have been having some summer fun, even though summer isn't officially here...last night we went for a swim and enjoyed some s'mores around dixon's father's day gift.
today we went to the aquatic center for spanky's (mikell) birthday. we had a refresher course on our summertime rules during the drive out. we stayed longer than we ever have before. i have two little fish and one very content baby.
on the way home, the girls went on and on about how much fun they had and how they want to go back. i thanked them for how good they were, obeying the rules and all... lynn cheered: "and nobody touched us in our swimsuit area!" yes lynn...
we really were blessed. not a single problem.
i had to stop off to show merrill that i still had three little girls. last night he made the comment that if i lost one, he wouldn't be replacing it... harharhar... he said that as i was trying to teach lynn how to swim, you know, get those floaties off... well, she kinda went a little too far and swallowed some water. so this morning, he asked me how on earth i was going to go to the pool with three small children. like i am totally incapable. i did have many happy helping hands! pey and darlene were buds. katie and lynn were pals. ash... ash is her own crazy playmate.
tonight, mer and i got the lawn done together, and he fixed the gimpy deck, mostly. we got fresh peas in the pod from darlene! and enjoyed some otter-pops. peyton likes alexander the grape. she was holding it with both hands, her teething ring on her arm. she got mad when i took it to push more up for her. see.... summertime!
*my favorite summertime kidism: ash- "why is our neighbor mulaning the grass?"
(have i said that one before?)**

Now we count down...

I have been putting this off... making a count down chain for Clint's arrival home from the land across the pond. I have been putting it off for one reason and one reason only.
The girls...
They get so excited and worked up, that I tell them of such exiciting things usually the night before so I don't have to hear for days on end: "Is today the day that ___________?" So now, with a week (about) left, I can make it, and tell them, "One more Tuesday (or whatever day it is...) until Clint comes home."
It's a funky chain, cause Clint's a funky guy. Each link has a challenge for the day on it, something fun to do to help the last days pass a little bit funner than the last two years have.
Today's challenge:
Do 9 jumping-jacks while chanting: "Clint's coming home... Clint's coming home..."
It was pretty funny watching the girls get that one out.
Other challenges include:
Saying: "Love You, Bye..." To whoever may call during the day... I think that one comes on Saturday, so if you happen to call...
And tomorrow's is to wave at the local Wendy's and send some Spicy Chicken vibes their way.
Another one, don your favorite Speedo.
And if you don't know Clint, you now know him a little bit better.

THE post....

Let's cover three days now, shall we?...
Saturday, was a fun-filled day... not much of the fun actually taking place at home.
The morning began earlier than usual for the girls because I got them up to go to Terrace Days parade, Kaitlyn and Mikell were in the parade... we have to yell their names as loud as we can. We got there, only after there were a few giggles at my expense because my car has now power windows... (laugh it up again Brookers and Jacks... hahahaha...)
The girls got a ton of candy, and we all got kissed by the sun, despite being in the shade. I think it came from being at the park afterward... anyways, the girls did great in the parade. Mikell was the appropriately spunky cheerleader, who did get voted as sophomore captain (woohoo!), and Kaitlyn held her military drill face perfectly. Poor Ash was so confused why Katie wouldn't wave or smile at her, she wouldn't even look at the poor kid! We had to explain to Ash that that was part of the routine. Then, there was this poor UPS guy who got stuck in a driveway right as the parade began, he got lots of mercy candy thrown his way. There was also a motorcycle cop who kept riding past us. Brooke and I were in heaven. He must have known, cause he kept on comin' back. I think I'll encourage Merrill to follow that dream of becoming a cop... bring his work home ;)...
At Rohmer park, we had a lot of the fun. They had this big sheet of plastic going down the hill, it is a very hilly park, (where Kevin sustained his injuries this last winter...) they weighed down the top with bins full of water and sprayed down the rest to make one gigantic water slide. The kids had a blast. Poor little Ash was a feather though, she really didn't get to go too far or too fast. We ate some treats and won prizes and Brooke played the favorite aunt and undermined all of my parenting... thanks Brooke. We saw the "Monster Truck" begin to crush some cars... then it stopped, and Ash wasn't too happy about that, she wanted to see it finish it's job.
After that, I was home to make some yummy desserts. I guess I should post that recipe on my other blog... and then off to hunt down Dixon's gift that I had left Mer in charge of picking-up, and he ran out of time. Four stores later, no one had it. So... We went up to his parents later and swam and ate. Peyton loved the pool! We are trying to convince Lynn that she doesn't need the floaties this summer. After that we went down to the store to watch the firework displays. It was "U Days" too... we thought that we were watching the "U Days" display, it was really Terrace Days, "U days" started when we were in the car to go home... so we kinda got a two in one. The kids had so much fun playing on all of the swing sets and trampolines down there. It's always a treat to play at dad's work.
Sunday, we gave Mer his gifts. After helping me wrap them, Ash was a little reluctant to hand over the case of Reese's Big Cups (it is a prerequisite to love Reese's peanut butter cups and Simpson's, sometimes at the same time, to belong in our family...) she told me that she didn't want to give them to dad because she, "lubs Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Cups soooo much...." I convinced her that daddy would share, and he did. There was quite the grin when he confirmed that fact. They worked like a charm to bribe them to sing in sacrament meeting :).
I went out to my parents house and stayed a while. Hallie really got Peyton laughing. Peyton was being held all night long, everyone seemed to want a turn, so when we came home, it was quite a surprise to see her new trick...
Today, we have been playing catch up from this weekend. I still have laundry to do, a house to tidy, hopefully a page (or two or three...) to scrap... but I do have groceries done! We also had lunch with Mer and saw the trusses getting put up on the hotel and got a bonus in some squeaky cheese curds from "the cheese guys"...
Now I need to stop for a breather.... enjoy some pics :)Me and my newest little fish.See, she LOVES it!
Sophie and Lynnie... we gotta get rid of those darn floaties!My tow older fishies.
Ash and Cade were buddies.Peyton at the fireworks.I caught Sophs doing her trick.
We are trying to convince dad to put up the swing beam...
A shot of the fireworks from across the highway.
And last but not least... Grandpa and Peyton.

Peyton's new trick...

Got home from mom and dad's last night, Peyton had been held all night...
Laid her down, and she rolled-over, from back to tummy!
I walked past her room right after she did it.... my baby!!! Where is time going?!?
So I grabbed the camera and made her do it again...

Flashback Friday...

One year ago, my period was late. I was so excited, I called Merrill at work and told him...
"Honey I am late!"
"When were you supposed to start?"
"This morning...." (it was noonish.)
"Don't get your hopes up... you still have the rest of the day..."
What a party pooper!
Well, the next day, Terrace Days, I bought a pregnancy test at Macey's, and took it the next morning, Father's Day.
What a Father's Day gift...Our sweet Peyton is now four months old!
24 3/4 inches long...
Almost 15 pounds...
She's so well fed...
And now Brooke's news...
And to the opposite end of the spectrum... my IUD. I have the last $300 to pay on it. It will pay for itself within one year, cheaper than five years of birth control! (One year of the mini-pill at 50 bucks a month = $600... 4 additional years of regular BC at around 30 bucks a month... yeah, it pays for itself within the first year...) And the only reason why the number five is brought up is because Mer says we are done...
We'll see... ;)
Oh, but I am EMBRACING every minute!

Back in the saddle again...

See my other bog for some cute layouts... ;) If you wanna...
I have been trying to get back on track with my one a day layout goal. Today I got two done!!! So how can I not scrap when Peyton is taking such good naps, and when she's not, she loves that dang jumper... she squeals at the jungle animals hanging above her head and talks to me too. We began playing this game where I shake my head at her and say, "Not the fingers!" I am trying to get them out of her mouth all the time... she now turns-up her nose at the bink! But that is what makes her happy, especially when she is tired... she squeals and laughs so hard when we play "Not the fingers!!!". It is so cute! I love it... I have also found some tickle spots, those are great. But she'll have not much to do with me (feedings are the exception...) when Mer is home.
The girls have been so funny about saying prayers lately. They will tell each other things to say during one another's prayers in this super sweet voice that makes Mer and I smile at each other through one cracked eye during the prayer.
We always have to remind Ash to "bless the food", and yes, it is "bless the food", instead of "bless the bood". We have been working with her on her f's. She says "fartknocker" really well!
So today, Lynn was blessing our lunch...
Lynn: "Heavenly Father, we thank thee for this day. We bless our family. We bless the Holy Spirit. We bless that we can get married in the church... uh... I mean the temple someday...."
Ash: "Bless the food..." in that super-sweet voice...
Lynn: "...Bless the food. Help our bodies to be strong..."
Ash: "Bless the HOTEL..."
Yes she suggested that Lynn bless the hotel!
We went there last night to see the third floor. It looks awesome! I didn't think I would be so nervous with the girls though. I know just how dad felt at Dead Horse's Point in southern Utah now with us young-uns. Us, 30 feet away from any viewpoint, which has guardrails and chain-link fencing, dad in front of us with arms bracing us, holding us back: "Can you guys see?"

start 'em while they are young...

had some errands to run yesterday... went to sports authority to get two things: a new sports bra (for some reason i am too chesty for the one i have...) and baseball socks. i began to really miss my purple ones from my comp. softball days. i ended-up coming out of that store with a few more unplanned purchases. two of which were princess mitts, ash would have much rather had "a hitter", or a bat to most people.
lynn is a natural, ash surprisingly is the girly, "close my eyes, turn my head, and stick out my mitt anywhere" type. lynn is awesome! all she wants to do is play catch now. time is now told by when we can play catch next.it's been a busy couple of days.
yesterday, errands. got more pics, (friday i printed out $50 worth... need to scrap...) one file wouldn't load when i was at sam's friday, thought i brought the right disk yesterday, but the original pic wasn't on it, aarghhh! got the cakes for the party, and mer's father's day done. went to wal-mart to hunt down frames, which i found. whatever happened to target's selection? got home, mowed the lawn, well most of it. i got the front and part of the back done. i thought we were out of gas, but there was more... played catch with lynn, made dinner, ate, then mer did the trimmer while i finished mowing. we finished off the evening with more catch, baths, and home made milkshakes. oh, and mer hit me in the head with the ball, no marks though!
ash had a rough night. she is having a rough go with her breathing. she woke up needing to go potty, but instead of getting there, ran around doing the potty dance in a half sleep stupor with her shirt pulled up. she stood in front of the tv for awhile trying to figure out what to do. she was confused, funny, but confused. we got a laugh out of it. after listening to the kind of cough she had going on, i set up the humidifier, and she did okay. not a real good night sleep for her.
i laid in bed and thought about going to the doctor, but i was nervous for what might come with that. almost two years ago, after stuffing a cooked carrot up her nose, (i was a little distracted while i was on the phone trying to explain to my mother why merrill and i weren't having a baby right then, i was so distracted by this conversation that a boy i was tending at the time even began showing my sweet little girls what made him a boy...) ash started to get an atshma-ey sounding cough and cry. i took her to the doctor, cause i wasn't sleeping too well then either, and told him what was up. he was quite surprised to hear what i knew and asked if i was a nurse. i love it when doctors have that reaction, yes, i do know some stuff. i do have the internet... anywhoo... he gives us an antibiotic, saying she probably has an upper-respiratory infection, she hasn't coughed or cried for him to her how she sounds, yet. i was kind of annoyed, because he said he could hear some wheezing but didn't think it was asthma. so then she cried. he stopped mid-sentence while giving me dosing instructions, and said, "that sounds like an asthmatic cry." duh... so we got her a prescription for an inhaler. he told me that it had only one fill for it, that if she needed more then we would have to go back for more extensive allergy testing to get it pinned down and under control. so i haven't wanted to go back and put her through all of that. a friend has been generous enough to let us use her nebulizer and albuterol (she is a respiratory therapist...) then her son got asthma, and we haven't had it around for a while so ...
so today, i hopped in the shower, really didn't try to do my hair, (yup, i looked super cute!) to get her to the doctor before the primary activity. it all worked out. got her inhaler prescription refilled, got advice on allergy meds, and got to the church on time to set up for our party. what's even better than just the refill, when i told him, well, reminded him (leaving out the allergy testing part...) about what went on before, he gave us 2 refills of the inhaler and a coupon to get the first one free, an half off the next. woohoo!
so we got that all filled, i also bought myself a treat that i can have only when i am srapbooking... and we got home. yes, to play catch. now, everyone is fed and happy, and to prove it:
my sweet peyton... who is making it so i can type one-handed!
she has been doing some fun stuff too: she reaches for toys, can hold them for a micro-second, she watches her feet and laughs at them, and she has started to stick her spare finger up her nose while she sucks on the other two...
now that was a mouthful!

Motherhood 101...

There are the things that we do every day as mothers that we know our children pick up on and emulate at the most inopportune moments, and then there are those things that seem so natural to them, that of course they are going to copy!
So here's Ash... her glow worm (yup Brooke, the one you gave her...) was hungry. Where else does a baby get food? A bottle? Naw... good old breast milk.
The other day I heard the girls talking while I was getting ready. I caught the end of whatever Lynn was saying: "... I am going to be a mom. What are you gonna be?"
Ash: "I am gong to be like mom like mom and play with kids all day and not go to work."
Lynn: "Yeah, me too."
So I guess I am starting them out right...

Flashback Friday...

Here's a flashback... 10 years ago... well, almost...Merrill bought his Civic.
I must admit that a Civic was my dream car. There was this family that I babysat for, the Jorgensens, they had a '93 Civic, I loved it. I thought it was so cute! My dream was to one day buy a Civic, two door though...
I remember the day that Merrill bought it. I was at Joe and Jackie's house with my fiance (bleh!) and Mer stopped by to show it off. I didn't go outside with them, I really wanted to though. I think Ryan was already a little curious about how I acted when Mer was near.
Merrill was so excited! I had never heard him talk so much or so excitedly. He'd always been pretty reserved and quiet.
Well, a couple of months later, I was riding shotgun in it constantly. I think that Clint and Austin weren't too fond of me, I kinda took their place. I do remember the three of them singing Amy Grant to me in the car one day...
Here we are, almost ten years later... the rad car, still going. We have never had a problem with it... knock on wood... I don't want to ever get rid of it. In fact, the other day I told Mer that Lynn will probably be learning how to drive manual in it in a few years...
It hasn't even hit 96,000 miles yet. It has taken us on our first date, many more, countless late night chit-chats, a good make-out spot, taken us to many a concert, on our honeymoon, to the hospital and back three times now, to Lake Powell twice, Dinosaur Land once, and countless camping trips all over the state and over the border. It has been always reliable, but somehow, always needs to be cleaned now days... even when we have just cleaned it. It's poor back seat has been spit up on way too much... It may not have power anything, but it does have a lot of get up and go (thanks to Austin's AEM power intake), and if it can survive me learning to drive a stick in it, I think it can survive anything! We have had miracles, like over 400 miles to a tank of gas on the way home from Powell miracles in it... yeah... it's a sweet ride.
Up until recently, we had a huge speaker box in the trunk. That made grocery shopping trips pretty interesting. We took it out when we were going camping an awful lot. I am a pro at packing that trunk... but I miss the booming.
We love it...
So what got me thinking about this? I had to get the safety and emissions done for the registration. 10 years worth of stickers will need to come off the license plate before the '09 sticker can go on...

A Good Nap!

Peyton has had some issues taking good naps and eating like I think she should the last few days... So thank heavens when Brooke loaned us "Ebbs" (Evan's) old jumper. Peyton loves it! She played for such a long time, was so happy the whole time and ended up falling asleep. Fun! Thanks Brooke! She is so generous to let us use anything that she has that Evan has used that is new and fun. She even offered her infant car seat just in case ours was too old to use. She's awesome!
More about the sleep and eat issue...
I don't think that anything is necessarily wrong, but just changing and I am not used to it... yet.
She used to eat about every four hours, nighttime not included, she sleeps through the night... but now, my boobs are huge and ready to spray at the slightest stimulation. Seriously. I try to force her to eat, because I am not hip to having the pump attached to my chest all day long. The girls stare at me too much for my comfort level.
She isn't taking naps as well as she was. Her morning nap isn't as long as it used to be and her afternoon nap isn't always as prompt in coming as it used to be either. She is happy as can be, so I try not to force anything. My daily pattern just needs some tweaking now.

This an' That... (Oatmeal Scotchies)

I did not get to play today... rainy days call for snuggling and a good movie, Lynn picked "Superman /returns"... Ash has a little crush on the "S" dude.
We did make these yummy cookies:Oatmeal Scotchies
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups old fashioned or quick oats
1 2/3 cup butterscotch chips

Cream butter, shortening and sugars together. Add vanilla and eggs. Mix well. In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients, except chips. Add this mixture to the wet mixture gradually. Mix in chips last. Bake in oven at 375 for 7-8 minutes for chewy cookies, 9-10 for crisp cookies. Let cool and enjoy!
And here's a couple of projects I did last week...

Peyton's Propeller...

When Peyton gets stuck in the bouncer, and no one is there to bounce it for her, she has found a way to bounce herself. We call it her "Propeller Leg"... and a few spit bubbles... enjoy!
*Warning: Now that I have gotten the video thing figured out, you might be seeing more of my kiddos! Hopefully it will be more entertaining and you will be able to tone out my annoying voice... (I will attempt to censor Ash...;)**

Summertime Rules and Regulations.

Here's to summer...
Last night, well night before last if you really wanna look at it that way... we had an FHE about our summertime rules. We went over lots of information with the girls. Everything from what bugs and spiders are good and we shouldn't run screaming from them, to which ones we should tell mom and dad about and not touch. Swimming rules. Staying in the yard rules. Stranger Danger. What to do if they get lost or separated from us. Chores. Keeping food in the kitchen. The one that I always hate to even bring up because it makes me feel so sad that this world isn't a safe place... good touching and bad touching. We have talked with them about it before, but...
There was an incident this last week in Orem with a mom and her little girl at a Wal-Mart. The mom left her little girl in the shopping cart to go around the corner and get an item. A stranger came up and touched her underneath her shorts. The girl told her mom, the mom saw the guy, and he knew that she had told on him and he ran. So we have to teach our children now, that even when they think that they are safe, it is possible that bad things can still happen. I don't want to teach my kids to fear everyone and every situation, but I think it is important to teach them what isn't acceptable and what they should do about it. I want them to know that I know what goes on and they should tell me if it were to happen.
So tonight we quizzed the girls at dinner.
Me: "Okay Ash, pretend like I am a stranger... 'Hi little girl. What's your name?'"
Ash: "Ashley!"
Mer: "Buzzz!"
Lynn: "She did it wrong! Let me do it!"
Me: "Now remember, I am a stranger...'Hi little girl. Your mom wants me to take you home. I have candy in my car, c'mon.'"
Lynn: "Nope. What's the password?"
Me: "Fartknocker?"
Ash: (giggle)
Lynn: "Nope!"
We have taught them that they can still be friendly, not grumps, but to keep their distance.
We also went to see the hotel. It has a second floor now! It is so amazing to see it is really happening. Every day, something new is going on down there. It's so cool to watch and to know that this is just another part of our future.
Kevin and Randee lost the baby... I feel so bad for him, since this is his first experience at fatherhood... I hope it happens for them soon.
Ally has gotten me in the mood to scrap. Since I am feeling better, but still don't have the energy back, I have been trying to get caught up on housework before I play. Today I was all set out to get all the floors done. I busted my butt to get everything in it's rightful place and clean up trash along the way, got all the vacuuming done and went to use my favorite tool (well, up until today...) the Swiffer. To my horror, it just wouldn't work. I replaced the batteries thinking that was the kink, nope, nothing. Now I do have to say that Ashley has a little kindergarten crush on the Swiffer. She has Swiffer radar and knows when the cleaning closet is open and goes to the Swiffer and presses the button just to hear the sound it makes. I keep the cleaner separate, because I have learned that she likes to do that. So I thought that she wore out the batteries. Apparently it is something far, far worse... my floors aren't as clean as I had hoped they would be.
But I do plan to play tomorrow!
We spent part of the evening at Lagoon... three year old metldowns as we leave the park and five year olds falling off of retaining walls... might just keep us away for a little while. Peyton was the best behaved.
As the girls were going to bed, we had to explain the science of shadows to Ashley. She thinks that they will hurt her. That was interesting. She just couldn't seem to stay in bed after that. She got up to go to the bathroom, again. To get a drink, and then to tell us, "Goodnight, don't let the big bugs bite." And finally, she brought in her blanket to me and asked if I would "decorate it on her". I have no idea how she came up with that word for spread it out... so I "decorated" her, and they were out. And now my post is done, and so is my float!

I feel like dog poo...

I woke up this morning feeling like poo. Poo that has been sitting in the hot sun, then stepped in, then smeared on the ground. Yup, that bad.
I started feeling it last night, but didn't think much of it. We enjoyed an evening at Lagoon, the first of many this summer... Peyton and I walked a lot while Mer took the girls on rides. Ash is too much of a chicken to go on anything by herself. This three child thing is difficult at the moment. We got home, and I felt kinda started to feel bad then.
But this morning...
I woke up and felt really bad (that's where the smeared part comes in...) my head hurt, my throat hurt, my right ear (yes, that specific) hurt... I felt dizzy when I got up. I was pretty much useless. To make matters funner... Lynn came and told me that her "mouth hurt". After further investigation, I discovered what she really meant was that her throat hurt. Peyton wasn't happy unless she was drugged-up too, there's no her-telling-me what is bothering her... more rounds of Tylenol on mom!
Sickness!!!
Bleh!
I did manage to get a good nap in today, the girls were cooperative. The best cure for feeling like poo is to stay in bed with the sweetest baby ever, nurse and sleep, a lot.
Mer did church solo (thanks Christie my conductor replacement extraordinaire and others for holding down the Primary front...). I am feeling better now, but still not 100%.
Here's to lots of water and Tylenol!
Ashley was pretending to be a kitten today, I caught her licking Peyton's face...
Now how on earth could we be getting sick???