"giddy-up"

The other day Alex and I were practicing counting and I decided to go through animal sounds with him as a refresher.

Here is our conversation:

Me: "Alex, what does a pig say?"
Alex: "oink, oink:
"How about a cow?"
"Mooooooo"
"Frog?"
"ribbit, ribbit"
"Dog?"
"arf, arf"
"Cat?"
"meow"
"Horse?"
(pause)....."Giddy-up"

I just love that little boy!

The Joys of Parenting

I love my children but sometimes they can really push me over the edge. Between the whining, crying, tattling, complaining, and tantrum throwing... sometimes I just can't take any more. Today was one of those days. Adam and Abbi started in on each other early this morning and by 9:30 in the morning, I was already forced to referee many arguments over little trivial things. So, since our dishwasher broke (just one of many things gone wrong this week but that is another post), I told them to go down and wash the dishes, rinse them, and put them in the dishwasher - to dry. So, off they run yelling who gets to do what job. Of course, they both choose the same job and yet another argument ensues. I tried to ignore the yelling as long as I could but when I heard a big SLAP and crying, I decided to go investigate. Can you believe it? They are fighting over who gets to wash the dishes. Honestly! So within seconds, Abbi - the slapper- found herself in timeout and Adam - the slappee, but not so innocent- was sent to sit on the couch. Then I had a bright idea! They both were to sit down and write a note to each other. The note had to say what they liked about each other and could be no less than 50 words. I then made them sit facing each other and read the note. Here is what they said:
Adam's note to Abbi:

"What I like to do with you is play outside. The best thing about you is that you help me with some things. Some times I get mad at you but you are my sister. You are the best sister ever. I am sorry I yeld at you. You Rock."

Abbi's note to Adam:

"To Adam, you are good at math and x,+, -. You are good at legos. I im sore that I hit you. How do you bild legos sow fast? You are good at playing socer. You are good at playing baskit boll."

I think it went pretty well.

Sometimes, amidst the hard moments of parenting, I find myself laughing at some of the "punishments" I come up with for my kids. Like the time I tied Adam and Abbi up together and made them make cookies. They could only use the one free hand they had which forced them to work together at measuring ingredients and mixing the dough. Or the time I made them hold hands in the back seat of the car for an extended period of time. And, of course, who could forget the time I made them actually hug one another. Anyone else have any creative punishments? Leave a comment and share. I would love to hear them. I could use a good laugh.

Rafting the Snake River

Aaron and I have often said how much we love our friends and neighbors. They truly are the best and this weekend we had so much fun getting together with some of them to go camping and river rafting down the Snake River in Wyoming. It was a blast! All in all we had 4 families equaling up to 13 kids and 8 adults. So, with that many people there never was a dull moment.

White water rafting down the Snake River was so much fun! The waves were awesome as we traveled through lunch counter and the cottonwoods. Many of our group in the boats were tossed out, shoes, hats, sunglasses, and earrings were lost, but in the end we all were laughing and ready to do it again and again.

We had so much fun, ate yummy food and delicious dutch oven desserts (there is something to be said about cooking food outdoors- it seems to taste better), stayed up late, and laughed and talked with friends. We can't wait to do it again next year.

Abbi's Spring dance recital

I am so proud of Abigail. Anyone who knows her knows she does not like a lot of attention on her and can be quite shy at times. However, when she gets on stage and dances, that all disappears. She did an awesome job at her Spring recital and we are so proud of her. She worked very hard and practiced a lot and she was a dancing star!

Happy Birthday Abbi!

Has it really been 7 years since I sat in the hospital holding my new little daughter? Having you in our family Abbi has been such a blessing. You are so sweet and thoughtful. I love the many drawings and little notes you leave on my bed for me to find with your sweet I love you's and bright colored flowers. You have a bubbly personality and are so much fun to be around and laugh with. Just remember that us girls need to stick together. We love you!

For Abbi's birthday we went shopping for a new bike and I think we found a great one! It is purple, of course, and fits Abbi just right. That night, after opening more presents, we took the whole family to Spaghetti Factory where they sang to Abbi over icecream. And, of course, birthdays are not complete in our house unless we have had several celebrations and Abbi's was no different. She celebrated all week long and received great presents. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Our New Kitchen!

Our kitchen (minus the tile backsplash) is done and I absolutely love it! I love how the cabinets turned out and how much space they have. I have so much room now, I even have an empty cupboard although I am sure it won't be long before I have found something to put in there. And after hours of searching through warehouses of granite, picking out several slabs only to have to start again (Love ya Aaron), getting several bids, and going back and forth of what we were actually going to do- I love my granite countertops. So, after all the time spent, miles driven, steps taken searching out granite slabs, drawer styles, colors, ... the list goes on, my kitchen is in and I am enjoying it all. Does this mean I actually have to cook in it? Can't I just enjoy the view?

Plus, not only did I get a new kitchen, I also had fun redecorating! Too fun and very spoiled!

Adam got his wolf!

We are so proud of Adam. He worked hard all year and with the help of his awesome scout leaders he was able to earn his Wolf in Scouts. Way to go Adam! Keep up the good work!

Create

I came across this while reading another's blog and thought it was amazing.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhLlnq5yY7k

I spend a lot of time looking at other blogs and thinking how creative they are- Sewing this, revamping their latest DI find, making something wonderful out of nothing, cooking wonderful meals for their families- and I think "I wish I could do that." I don't know how many times I tell myself that I am not creative, or I can't do that. But no more! I can do that! I am a creative person! It may take some time and practice but I will do it!

So for my first project with a new attitude.... revamp the kids bathroom. Complete with a new paint job on the bathroom vanity. Wish me luck!

Hawaii vacationing with my honey

So Aaron and I dropped the kids off at Randi's house (Thank You!) on Thursday morning and made our way to the airport to hop a plane to Oahu for 2 days and then make our way to Kauai for the remainder. We were so excited to meet up with our friends Jared and Kirsten Waite from Colorado and spend 10 glorious days in the fun and sun of Hawaii.

Here are the highlights of our fabulous vacation:

While in Oahu, we visited the Polynesian Cultural Center. The PCC, as they call it in Hawaii, was awesome! I would, however, forgo the lunch buffet and spend more time going to each of the "islands" and participating in the many activities there. The final luau was spectacular and would definitely recommend going if you have never been before. The lu'au dinner was only okay and not really worth the money but I guess we pay for the ambiance!

I got a "tattoo"

Aaron and Jared learning to play the ukele.
Pearl Harbor was very sobering. We took the tour that involved watching a movie about the events of that day then took a boat ride out to the USS Arizona Memorial. They built it right over the sunken Arizona and you can still see part of the ship below.


After two days in Oahu, we jumped a plane again to spend the remainder of our vacation in Kauai. What a beautiful, green place! I am officially in love with Kauai! On Mother's Day, Aaron and I took a drive up the North coast and found the Kilauea lighthouse and then drove down to the South coast for dinner and entered through the tunnel of trees. When we saw the Monkey pod tree in Old Town Koloa I immediately thought of Adam and how much fun he would have climbing and playing in this tree. Roy's Poipu cuisine is by far THE BEST restaurant I have ever eaten at. The filet mignon was "like butter" and the macadamia nut crusted shutome was delicious. If you are ever in Kauai, I absolutely recommend it!

Kilauea Light houseMonkey Pod Tree
Eating my free Mother's Day ice cream from Lapperts.

(I still think Baskin Robbins in better.)

Enjoying dinner at Roy's


On Tuesday we spent the day back up on the North shore and visited Queen's Bath - could have skipped this, and Tunnel's Beach. While snorkeling with Kirsten, we came across 4 sea turtles. They were floating in the water and almost looked like they were flying. So, I am following one of the sea turtles and I turn around and low and behold I spot a....SHARK! Did I mention that this same scenario is always in the back of my head every time I go snorkeling? So, I flipped around and yelled to Kirsten there was a shark. She spotted it too and we booked it out of there. (Play "Jaws" music here). We grabbed our guys on the way out and headed to the shore. When we got to shore I went up to the lifeguard tower and told him I had just spotted a shark. Here is how that went:

"Hey, I just spotted a shark out there while I was snorkeling."

"What did it look like?"

"Like a shark, it was gray, and had three lines on the side of its face."

"Those were gills. Did it have stripes on its back?"

"No, I don't think so. I didn't really stick around long enough to find out."

"Oh, that shark is a white tipped reef shark and lives out there and is harmless. That is cool you got to see him."

WHAT? That was unreal. I guess I should have taken Aaron and Jared over there to see the shark as well. I guess next time I encounter a shark in the water, I will have to look and see if it has stripes on it's back. Seriously, who is going to take the time to look for that? Unreal!

Here a picture I found online of a shark like the one I saw. Tell me you would not be scared if you saw this too! As I was google-ing Reef Shark in Tunnels, Kauai I came across several videos that people took of the reef shark while snorkeling in Tunnels. Pretty cool!

Kipu Falls is another must see spot. It comes complete with a waterfall, a swimming hole, and a rope swing. Aaron and Kirsten were brave and jumped off the 20 foot cliff into the water below. I, on the other hand, stuck to the rope swing which was scary enough for me. So much fun! Just a tip: When you are getting your gear out of the trunk of the convertible mustang, make sure you do not leave the car keys inside as there is no trunk latch in the car. (Love ya Aaron!)

Taking a helicopter tour of the island was so amazing! What a beautiful island! And to be able to see the Ne Pali coastline and fly into the volcano and see the weeping wall... no words can describe.

We also took a ride up the Waimea Canyon on the back of the Harley. Waimea is the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific." Magnificent! At least until I got off the wrong side of the bike and burned my leg on the muffler - OUCH! At that point, after 6 hours on the back of a bike I was done- beyond done!

I feel a little like Dumb and Dumber - Although Aaron looks great on the bike.

Kayaking up the Waimea river was one of my favorite activities we did. What a blast! We kayaked up to Secret Falls which is a hidden waterfall up the river. There we swam in the pool underneath the waterfall. The water was freezing but after kayaking and hiking to get there, it felt great! When we were done, we returned to our kayaks and made our way further up the river where we found another spot to swim that also had a rope swing (not as cool as the one at Kipu falls) and a cliff to dive off (Much less scary than the cliff at Kipu Falls). So when we had been at the second place for a little while up comes more kayakers and they get out. One "woman" proceeded to undress down to "her" bathing suit which was a string bikini. "She" turned around and I discovered "she" was a guy. What a sight! I think he was in the middle of the "change." Good times on the Waimea River!

If you want good, calm, clear snorkeling spot, my favorite was Ke'e Beach. It is the farthest beach you can get to by car. The water was crystal clear and it was so calm it was like swimming in the pool. The fish there were amazing and we even saw sea turtles again - minus the shark!

Last but not least, is the mention of the Hawaii Shave Ice. I cannot even count how many times we stopped and got this yummy treat! The combination of the shave ice and the ice cream underneath- my mouth is watering even as I type.

So, needless to say, Aaron and I had a fantastic time laughing, eating, playing, exploring, and swimming in Kauai. I love the Hawaiian islands and can't wait for the next time we can go back. Thanks Jared and Kirsten for coming! We had so much fun!

Why am I exhausted all the time?

Yes, that is pee on the floor - in front of the toilet? Hmmm...

Need I say more? Just to preface, the house was picked up and cleaned earlier this morning and the sad thing is that Adam hasn't even made it home from school yet. Calgon take me away!