Guess Who's 4?

We have had a crazy week around here because my little Bridger turned 4!

For some reason, being 4 seems so big.

0-3 still seems like a toddler, but 4?  Huge.  True big kid.

When I asked Bridger what kind of party he wanted, he said snakes.

Luckily, we know just the person...

My cousin Jeff has a reptile business and he came and put on an animal show for the kids.

He brought bugs, and lizards, and snakes.

This one, is Cinderella.

Just to give you an idea of how big she is...Jeff is 6'6" and the snake still looks HUGE on him.  Yeah, it was massive.

Everyone got to touch Cinderella...

And then feed Gordon...the tortoise.

Bridger (who was actually really embarrassed to have all the attention on him) picked his own birthday cake from Costco with a dinosaur on it.  Every year I make my kids a birthday cake.  I go to a lot of work too.  I try to make something really unique.  This year, Bridger begged for a cake from the store.  LOL.

Since we just got back from CA, I didn't have a lot of time to plan this.

Brittany came over to help and we decided to keep it simple.

After all, the reptile show was enough.

Happy Birthday Bridger!!!

What I Wish I Wore...

My little sister Brooke just dyed her hair BLUE for the summer.

Just the tips, and just underneath.

I loved it.

I was kind of surprised that I loved it, but I did.

It was fun and summery, and young.

So cute!

She said that she just bought the hair dye at Walgreens and she offered to do mine for me too.

Hmm...I'm really tempted.

I loved it on Brooke.

But, I'm not sure I can pull it off.

I might be too old...or, not old, but not young enough for blue.

I have a few more weeks to decide.

Brooke will be here for a few days in August before she leaves for China.

What do you think?

Should I try out blue?

LOL

Olympics 2012

Has everyone been watching the Olympics?

I made my kids watch the opening ceremonies with my so I could tell them about how wonderful and unique it is for the whole world to get together to celebrate.

I LOVE the Olympics.

I pointed out my favorite countries to my kids and I cheer for any event with the USA, Brazil, or Romania, and for Nate's sake, Italy too :)

I've been keeping the Olympics on TV all the time so I can stay up to date and on what's going on.  I find myself cheering for events that I know nothing about, like rowing :)

My favorite event is always gymnastics.

I don't know why, I just love it.

The girls are so young and have worked so hard, I just want to see them win.

My boys are excited to see soccer (since soccer season just started).

They announced during the opening ceremonies that there are some countries that come to the Olympics every year but have never medaled, so I find myself cheering them on as well.

I just love the spirit of the Olympics.

I love watching the best athletes come together in one place and compete.

I love watching world records broken.

I love watching good sportsmanship.

I even really like hearing all of the different national anthems.

When the Olympics came to SLC, my roommates and I waited up late at night, in the freezing cold, to watch the Olympic torch pass through Provo.

I even have a picture to prove it :)

We're all bundled up in quilts and freezing to death, but we were there!

What's your favorite part of the Olympics?

The Glass House

Has anyone been following ABC's The Glass House this year?

One of my best friends from high school, ANDREA, is competing on it this year.

I think she's brave, and maybe a little crazy, for doing it, but I really want her to win!

Here's just one is example of how great Andrea (and her family) are:

When Nate and I got engaged, we decided to get married in CA even though we were both living in UT.  That's where my family is and I had always wanted to get married in Los Angeles.  We needed a lot of help, planning it from a distance, and I didn't even know who to ask because I hadn't lived at home in so long.

On the day of my wedding, Andrea's Mom showed up and helped set up the entire thing, then helped with the food, and then helped clean up.  We didn't even ask her.  We invited their family and not only did they come, but they helped!

Then, Andrea and her husband helped me buy a mattress for our new bed at wholesale prices.

Then, while I was on my honeymoon, her Dad fixed my car for me.

 So, if any of you watch the Glass House,

Please VOTE for ANDREA 

and

LIKE her facebook page. 

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Fearless

Saxon has always been my fearless child.

If he says he's too afraid to do something, 

it's usually because he's just trying to get out of doing it,

 not because he's actually afraid of it.

Everything the big boys did at the lake, he wanted to do.

Tubing.

Wakeboarding.

Wake Surfing.

Kneeboarding.

Kneeboarding quickly became his favorite.

It's not that hard, and he feels like he's really doing something cool.

Mostly he would just stay on his tummy on the board and cross back and forth over the wake.

One time, the boys suggested to him that he should try to get up.  They explained how to loosen the straps, get your knees in place, and then velcro yourself it.  I figured that it was too many instructions for a 5 year old and I thought he would just ignore them.

In fact, at one point, he got so sick of everyone shouting advice to him from the back of the boat that he started saying,

"I'm just going to do this however I want!  Don't tell me to do things."

So, after the latest instructions, my little guy was off behind the boat getting ready.

Then he shouts "Hit it!"

And we're off.

At first he just stays on his belly.  Then he holds the rope with one hand as he starts to loosen the strap.  Then we see his little bum go up in the air and he tries to maneuver his knees under him.  And then he had it!  He was up on his knees, in the right spot, knee boarding.  He was really doing it!  He even strapped himself in.  He adjusted the velcro over his knees and got himself all snugged in.  It was the cutest thing ever!  He looked so little out there.

Not only was he knee boarding, but he was doing an amazing job.  

He had great balance and great control.

After a while my little brother asked,

"What will happen when he falls, now that he's all strapped in?  Will he get trapped under water?"

Silence.

What will happen?  Now we were a little nervous.  If he were to have a huge wipe out, it would probably knock him out of the board, but what if he just tipped over?

One of the boys suggested that we start pulling him in so that we can get him close and then stop the boat and just pull him in.  It sounded like a good idea, so the boys started pulling him closer.  While they were pulling him, my mom was slowing the boat.

It seemed to be working until the boat got too slow and he tipped over.

The knee board flipped over and trapped him, all strapped in, underneath.

I think my heart stopped.

My 13 year old brother Kasen immediately jumped in the water and started swimming towards him.  A second later his friend Wyatt jumped in too.  

Saxon some how managed to get his body through the straps and it ended up around his waist.  He could get his head above water just long enough to take a breath and cry out and then the board would push him down again.

It was probably only a minute before Kasen reached him and flipped him over.  The two boys untangled him and towed him in.

When they got him to the swim step, I pulled him in, wrapped him in a towel and hugged him.  He told me how he couldn't breathe and how he was stuck.  We gave him his own Diet Coke to make him feel better (I know, I know...but it was the best I could come up with in the moment...) and then my mom let him help her drive the boat.

After we got back to shore I asked him if he was scared.

I should have known better.

He's not scared...he's mad!  How dare those stupid straps trap him like that...next time, he wants someone to take off those straps and throw them away so he can knee board without getting stuck.

Like I said...

Fearless.

We're Back :)

We just got back into town last night after spending a week at the beautiful Shaver Lake, CA.  It's one of my favorite places in the world and I LOVE taking my kids.

It's the kind of place where I can just take a breath and feel at peace.

I tried out wake surfing for the first time :)

The verdict:  I can't do anything fancy, but I already like it better than wakeboarding.

You're not strapped in, so when you fall, you just fall.

When you're wakeboarding, you don't just fall, you smash into the water.

My mom tore her eardrum a few years ago wakeboarding, just by hitting the water on her side.  I decided a few years ago, after giving it a good try, that I just don't really enjoy it.  I'd rather ski.

Wake surfing however, is a fun and easy alternative and I can't wait to try again.

Even Saxon tried wake surfing on my cousin Dylan's back.

We spent all week on the water and loving every minute of it!

The kids had cousins there to play with so of course, they were in heaven!

Now I'm home and have a thousand things to do.

You know the saying about needing a vacation after your vacation?

Seriously.

I could use a week to clean and organize and regroup.

Has anyone else been camping yet this year?

Vacation

Hi Everyone!

I'm writing from HOT and sunny CA at my mom's house :)

I'm taking the kids camping for a week and I had grand plans of having a bunch of blog posts scheduled to go up...but time got away from me.

Sorry!

So...I've closed my shop for 2 weeks while I"m gone, and I won't be able to blog again until I get back from the mountains next week.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and I'll see you next week!

Charming

I'll admit it...I get easily charmed.

My kids can get out of all kinds of trouble, if they are charming.

Saxon lately, has been having a ton of meltdowns.

I think that part of it is that we are so busy this summer, and he is going to bed too late.

I think he's just tired a lot.

But in little kids:  tired=emotional=MELTDOWN.

Or maybe I'm just missing the mark with parenting him.

I think that's part of it too.

He has such a strong personality that I don't know what to do with him sometimes.

Yesterday, Nate had to run to Walmart to get more milk for Dalton.

While he was gone, Saxon had a freak-out because he wanted the book that Bridger had.

So he tantrumed, and then hit me in the face with a couch pillow.

I was so mad!

More mad than I needed to be really, but it totally caught me off guard and I reacted.

I dragged him off to my room (Dalton was sleeping in the boys' room)

and told him:

-that he was grounded forever

-he had a million consequences

-he was never allowed to do anything fun again

-etc.

To which he reponded:

-that he hated me

-I'm the ugliest mom ever

-he will never forgive me

-he doesn't even love me

-etc.

Super.

That didn't go well at all.

I went back to the living room feeling mad, hurt, and guilty because I just can't seem to get it right with this kid!

A few minutes later my phone rings.

It says "Nate".

Good, I wanted to tell him about it.

I said "Hello?"

A brief silence, and then from the other line, I hear a little voice start singing:

"The world is a RAINBOW!

With many different colors,

Yellow black and white and brown,

You see them all around.

Now you be you,

And I'll be me,

That's the way we are meant to be.

The world is a mixing cup,

Just look what happens when you stir it up!

The world is a RAINBOW!!!" 

I was laughing so hard!

Nate had left his phone in our room, and Saxon called me to win me over with a song.

It totally worked too.

I told him that I loved him and that I was sorry.

He told me that he loved me and that he was sorry.

I love that kid!