Busy Sunday

We had a really busy Sunday yesterday. Both Jake and I were assigned to speak in church, plus Mckayla was asked to give a talk in primary and Lyla was assigned to do the scripture and prayer. Saturday (and very early sunday morning) was consumed with talk and primary lesson preparation thanks to lots of procrastination by us. I also had choir practice in the morning, because I have been filling in as the accompaniest since the previous one left for his mission. So, before 9am I had to finish my talk and lesson, get all our stuff together, and get me and the girls ready for church, plus have breakfast on the table and dinner in the crockpot. Somehow we managed though. Our talks went well, I thought at least. But when we got home from church we all ended up crashing. Then we had a couple from church come over for dinner, plus our usual friends that come over to eat. It was fun, but busy. Our talks were on agency and choice and accountability. I thought it went well, and we didn't really go over, plus we definately didn't come up short on time. This next Sunday will be so relaxing compared to last week! Yay for conference! Stay home and watch church in our pajamas, but still get fed by the spirit! No lessons to prepare, no bags to pack, no hair to do, yay! We have cable, and the cable company here carries BYU tv, so we didn't have to get satelite to be able to watch conference, and we don't have to huddle around the computer which goes in and out during the broadcast. I am grateful for that.

More Friday Fun

So, since we had to leave early from the carnival we went home and had a dance party. The girls really really got into it, so I had to take some video. We also had some friends come over and play some Wii with us. I had never played on a Wii before, and it was a lot of fun. I am not much for regular video games, but we had a blast with the Wii, and it was something that the girls could have fun with too. It wears you out though, I about threw out my arm playing baseball. Plus, I kicked everybody's trash at bowling, though that would never happen in real life. Enjoy the video, it is pretty long though, I thought I'd wait until the song was over, and it just kept going!

A fun Friday night

This past weekend a carnival came to town, so we decided to go check it out. We only got to ride a few rides and walk around a tiny bit before it was too cold to be there anymore. We had a pretty rainy, wet weekend, so I don't think they made too much money out of this trip. It was funny though that this company is based in Pleasant Grove, UT, and all of these people had driven down from happy valley to put on this little carnival.

Lyla elected to sit next to some strange boy on the rollercoaster instead of sitting with Mckayla, go figure. But I think Mckayla liked having the car all to herself. They had fun on this one, putting their hands up on the hills and everything.
We also rode the carousel of course. This is Lyla on her horse, but I can't remember what she named it.
Mckayla waved like a beauty queen everytime she came around.
Obviously Jaxon's favorite part of the carnival was when Jake gave in and let him have at the caramel apple. Huge mess to clean up, but super cute!!! We were only there less than an hour and it started to pour down rain 2 minutes after we got into the car, so I think the carnival may have ended early anyways. It was fun though.

Taddle Tales

So Lyla is a perpetual taddler. She seems to be my people-pleaser who is anxious for approval from everyone. Mckayla, on the other hand, is more into doing things her own way and doing whatever she can to get her own way. While I try to dish out praise to Lyla a lot, I am not a fan of taddling. She will get a bit carried away and come running to me about everything. Especially if they are supposed to be cleaning room, or getting dressed, or any task that I have set out for them to do unsupervised. Lyla will come in yelling to me minutes after the task has started to report that Mckayla is not following the directions. And she'll always add, "but I am listening," or "I listened to the directions" etc.
Lately after I pick them up from the busstop Lyla will give me the rundown on every kid in her class who got in trouble that day and why. If everything that she tells me is true, it's pretty impressive that she remembers them all. Today, for example, I was informed that Dayton didn't listen to the teacher during rugtime, and Maya hit another girl on the playground, and three other names and specific indiscretions committed. It always ends with, "But I was a good girl at school because I always listen to directions." Or something to that effect. I try to discourage taddling at home, I tell Lyla to only worry about what she is doing and to let me worry about what Mckayla does. When Mckayla has gotten in trouble from school Lyla will really not let her forget it, and has to be reminded several times to mind her own business. I don't want their indiscretions to be between everybody. It has seemed to work a little bit, just because Lyla can see that I don't want to hear Mckayla's faults from her. That is between me and Mckayla.
It just doesn't seem like a healthy attitude she has been taking and I am not sure how to curb it. I want her to be proud of herself and know that I am proud of her. But I think it is different to point out what others do bad to lift yourself up. I want to show her that she has talents and she doesn't need to point out everything others do wrong to show how she is good. I also wonder why she seems to be so eager to please and is so desperate for approval. It really has just been since school started. It's not a terrible thing, but I think it could turn into unhealthy attitudes and habits.
The plus side of taddling is that I do want to be told if there is something really serious going on, or if there is a real problem at school. I don't think it is healthy to point out the faults of every kid in the class everyday, but it is a bit entertaining. Lyla can sure spin a story.
Ideas? Do you encourage or discourage taddling?

Rash Remedies Anyone?

So last weekend Jaxon had a low fever all weekend, and then he broke out in a rash. I took him to the doctor last Monday and he didn't seem at all concerned. So I am not supposed to be concerned either, right? It's is supposedly just some childhood virus that can't be cured with anything and will eventually just go away. But it has been a week and the rash seems to just be getting worse and worse. You can see that even his lips are bumpy and nasty.
It's hard to tell in pictures, but it is super bumpy and nasty. It has spread all over his body to his chest, back, and face, plus it is even on the bottoms of his feet. His hands and lips were so swollen and bumpy today that he had a hard time holding his sippy cup and picking up food to eat. I don't want to be a paranoid mother, but I thought it was supposed to be gone by now, and it is just looking really bad. If any of you out there have suggestions for me that would be great. I've tried lotions and creams, and it is supposedly a virus so it probably won't react to any kind of medication. But do you know of any home remedies that could at least ease things until he gets better?

Chocolate Baby

I gave Jaxon some of the utensils I used in making brownies today. I think he thought he'd died and gone to heaven. I have always said that he is happiest when he is messy. Needless to say, he got a bath when he was finished.

Ward Talent Show

Our ward had a talent show tonight and I had the girls preform a song for everybody. The last time our ward in Texas had a talent show they kept asking when they could get on stage and when it was their turn. So I figured I had better let them preform this time around. I needed to put it up quick so that Jake could see it. He is in Texas right now for work.

Our First Big Project

We took the plunge and began painting our house. We decided that we had better paint now because we have some cabinets and bookshelves that are going to be bolted to the walls and once we get those in here we won't want to take them out again to paint. We needed to do the dining room the same time that we did the office because they needed to go together. We just decided to do them all at once. The girls helped with the priming and were very excited to get to paint with us.
This is a before picture showing what the color used to be. Both rooms were that color, but we had already primed the dining room.
This is a shot of Lyla helping paint the walls. We also had loads of help from our friends Kyle and Joey who had stayed with us for a week while they were waiting to get into an apartment here. We finished the painting last weekend, but I haven't taken any pictures yet because we haven't completely put the rooms back together yet. We'll have to keep you in suspense as to what colors the walls are....

Chillin' in the Pool

We decided that we would go with a house that had a pool this time around, though we weren't specifically looking for a pool. We were a bit indifferent, in that we were willing to try having a pool, but only if it came with a house we really loved. We have been trying to do a lot of swimming before it gets too cold to swim, and I took some pictures of us trying out our pool awhile back. We bought Jaxon this little car floatie for his birthday, but I also bought a bunch of pool toys since they are on clearance this time of year.
Here's Lyla kickin back in my favorite pool toy.
Here's the girls sporting some goggles and stuff. They thought it was fun to put the gear on until we tried to get them to hold their faces underwater with it. Challenge: Can you figure out who is who??

A Haircut for Jaxon

Jake decided that we needed to cut Jaxon's hair to make him look more like a little boy and not a little hoodlum. Also so that the girls would be less tempted to fill his hair with bows and barretts. Above is a picture from his birthday to show how long his hair was. And, for those who don't know, this is his 3rd haircut, not his first. We just had waited awhile between haircuts this time with all of the moving around. His hair just grows super fast.
This is Jake cutting his hair on our back porch.
Here's a chunk of the clippings we swept up. Some of the pieces were 3 inches long!
Jaxon did okay at first, but then he got sick of it. I think he liked the skater look.
This is him playing on the playground with his new 'do. He looks so much older with short hair, and he looks like a little boy now instead of a little baby. It's crazy what a haircut will do.

Jaxon's First Birthday

So Jaxon turned One Year Old! YAY! That was the day we discovered the dead battery in our camera and lack of battery charger. But Jake has an inexpensive digital camera that he brought with him to Iraq that we could use for the birthday. Only we couldn't find the cord that hooks it to the computer until just a few days ago. These pictures were actually taken on his birthday. Notice how completely long and blonde his hair is! Crazy. He has really dark hair when he was born.
This is one of the toys we got for him. I also combined hand-me-downs with re-gifting by having the girls wrap up some of the toys that need to be passed down to Jaxon. They had a lot of toys in their room that now can go to Jaxon. It was great because we didn't buy that much for him, and the girls felt like they were giving him a present that was really from them. It was sweet some of the things they picked out to give him. Lyla, in particular, picked out a stuffed giraffe that she really loves and gave it to Jaxon. They love their brother and it turned out to be really sweet.
This is Jaxon with our friend Sylvia. We lived at her house for two weeks while we were waiting to get into this house. She has been so wonderful to us, and she only lives a few streets away so we walk over to visit often. She is the only person we invited over for Jaxon's birthday.
This is Jaxon tearing apart his cupcake and ice cream. I made Texas-sized (that's what the pan called them) cupcakes because Jaxon was born in Texas. Then we put out a bunch of sprinkles and cans of frosting and everyone could decorate their own. They were so huge that I wasn't even able to finish mine though.
The girls loved the cupcakes too, and decided that they should eat theirs like Jaxon since it was his birthday. We had a lot of fun with just a small little party for him. There is something about having a party with just your family and close friends instead of a big-old to-do that just seemed perfect for this occasion. I can't believe that Jaxon is already over a year though! That first year went by so quickly.

You Live, You Learn

This is my last catch up story for the night before I need to head to bed.
We actually have one room that we have designated as a guest room. Right now it is actually occupied by 2 guests for the week. A friend of Jake's and his friend just got hired by Northrop, only they can't get into the apartment they will be sharing until Friday, so they are staying with us until then. They are 2 really great guys that have been helping around the house and are both really great with kids, and I am grateful for that. Anyways. We actually previously had a spare bed but I got rid of it because we were trying to downsize and thought we wouldn't be having a guest room. You live you learn. I shouldn't have gotten rid of it.
So now we are looking for a gently-used cheaper but still nice bed to get. I saw a queen-size mattress on craig's list that looked really decent and was only $40. Plus it was a really nice mattress that is usually close to $1000. It was out in Benson which is 30 minutes away. I went out to get it and everything looked good. They already had it outside, and there were no stains and it still felt firm and good. I didn't notice anything. After I started driving with it in the back of the car I started to notice. They were obviously smokers. They probably didn't smoke in bed, but the smell would be in your hair, on your clothes, on your hands, etc. It made the car smell like a smokey hotel room. Not super smokey like you walked into a bar or something. But faint smokey that sneaks up on you, and then gets unbearable. I should have taken it right back; I should have asked, before committing to buy, if they were smokers; I should have taken a closer smell before loading it into my car; I should have grown a backbone and confronted those people. That is something people should disclose. You live you learn. Now we have this mattress that is sitting in the shed that we don't know what to do with. There is no way it is going in our house. Our car smelled of smoke for several days after, that is not how I want my house to smell. It will probably just get taken to the dump because my conscience won't allow me to resell that to some other poor unsuspecting fool like myself. $40 down the drain.

By the Way

The girls had a lot of fun on their field trip. They have been talking about it all afternoon. They went to an apple orchard and learned all about trees. They did lots of different activities and they got to pick a whole bag full of apples to take home. The apples are pretty sour, but they'll probably make a good apple pie. I am glad that schools do fieldtrips. It really helps re-motivate kids to keep liking learning and going to school. Everyone needs a change of scenery now and then.

New Car

Jake and I have lived for almost 6 years together with only having one vehicle at a time. Of course, almost 3 of those 6 years Jake was deployed, but still. I thought if we got me a bike I would be able to do okay without a car for awhile. However, Jake called me from work saying that a guy was deploying and was really trying to get rid of his car and it would be a good deal. I probably would have put up a fight, EXCEPT... That very morning we missed the bus for the first time since we moved into this house. Luckily the bus comes pretty early, so I thought we would have plenty of time to walk. It took a LONG time. It really isn't that far. Maybe a little bit over a mile. But my girls walk really slow, and get get distracted really easily. We ended up being a little bit late for school and when we got there the girls were hot and tired and not ready for a day of school. I started thinking, what if they got sick and needed me to come and get them? I would have no way to do that? What if there is an emergency? What if, what if, what if? Not 3 hours after that experience Jake called about his friend's car. It was in really good condition and has been really well cared for. Plus, it was inexpensive so we could pay cash and not go into debt. It is a 2000 Volkswagon Jetta. It is green. It only has 70000 miles on it, and no scratches or anything. Plus, it gets good gas mileage and Jake does a lot of driving for his job. I will post pictures whenever we find our camera charger, and I will have use of our van during the day whenever I find my keys.

Lost, Lost, Lost

Though I have restored order (or at least functionality) to the main rooms we use, I have been feeling very lost lately. I have lots of pictures that I have taken over the past while that I have wanted to post. And actually some pictures that I took specifically to post and write about. Anyways, my camera is dead. AND it has a custom battery that came with a custom charger that is, yep you guessed it, lost. I know it is somewhere. We had it in the car with us and with our stuff this whole time, but now that we are in the house and everything is jumbled together I can't find it. I have to have a charged battery in order to put pictures onto the computer, so no pictures until further notice.
Also, today the girls had their first ever field trip. They were so excited that they got ready super quickly without any trouble or anything. We were supposed to take them to school early because the bus for the field trip was leaving at 8:15, when school doesn't usually start until 8:40. Only when we were all ready, you guessed it, I couldn't find my keys. I looked everywhere, but after a while of ripping things apart I got nervous that we would miss the fieldtrip. So, luckily for me we have an across-the-street neighbor who is in our ward and her kids go to the same school. Though they weren't ready for school, she let me take her van to drop the girls off so they wouldn't miss the fieldtrip. Today I super-super cleaned everywhere. I turned the house inside out. Still no keys. Oh, and did I mention that my purse and wallet and cell phone are locked inside the car? yeah. So if you try to call my cell phone I am not going to answer. Hopefully things get less lost over the next couple of days.

Back again

So I am back online after a long long break. We have been hopping around from place to place and have finally gotten moved into our new house! We actually moved in 2 weeks ago, but we just got the internet set up this past week. Plus, then we had to dig out the computer and all of it's components. I am really glad to be moved into our house where we can stay put for awhile, but not excited about all of the work we have to do on it. So far we are doing okay though, I have the kitchen and all 3 bedrooms completely unpacked and put away. Of course there are two extra bedrooms full of boxes that we aren't sure what to do with, and I have yet to touch the office. It's a work in progress. I can only get things done during Jaxon's naptimes really, because he is still being quite clingy right now. Little by little we will get there. We're just happy to have a place now!