Father's Day

I wanted to rewind a couple of weeks and post pictures from Father's Day. The kids made breakfast in bed for Darin. Warren cut strawberries, Olivia chose & poured the cereal, and Sean made scrambled eggs. After breakfast we presented him with two of his gifts; a white shirt and tie and a candy lei. We each kissed him on the cheek as we presented the lei to him. He didn't end up wearing the lei to church for fear that the chocolate would melt all over him, but the kids helped him eat it after church. After a nice Sunday nap and dinner we sent Darin on a treasure hunt. The kids were so excited to help me think of the clues and were excellent clue hiders. The treasure hunt ended with the aforementioned tent. It was such a fun day! I asked each of the kids what they love most about Dad, and this is what they said:

Olivia: I love it when he plays games with us

Sean: I like that he tells us bedtime stories

Warren: I like it when he wrestles with us

David: DA! (this is how the conversation with David went: (me) "what's your favorite thing about Dad? (David, looking around for Darin) DA!

What's my favorite thing about Darin? My answer is...what's not to love? He is the kindest person I think I know! He is supportive, helpful, happy, patient, and no, Darin, in my wildest dreams I never imagined I'd be married to someone as funny as you! We love you lots!

In the evening we called Darin's dad, then headed over to my dad's house. We made him a candy lei, too (with black licorice and nuts), and added some "bling" in the form of a Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD. I'm sad we didn't get a picture, it was pretty sweet. We ended the evening with a free Sunday concert at a local park. It was a great day, and we're glad we had the opportunity to honor all our favorite dads! We feel very fortunate to have them in our lives. We love you, Dads!!!

Mama said there'd be days like this

Ok, so I realize this is two posts in a row that don't have pictures, but you'll be grateful for the lack of photos after you read this! Lest any of you think our lives are full of sunshine and roses, I need to share the fun morning I had. I was downstairs getting David out of his highchair and Liv came down and said, "Uh, Mom, did you see Warren's pull-up?" I said, "No, why?" and she said, "It's dee-sgusting". I asked where it was, she went up the stairs and came back down with one hand holding her nose, and the other hand holding a tiny corner of a poop-layden pull-up. I double bagged the pull-up, and took it to the outside trash. While I was outside, I heard Warren calling (screaming) for me. I started up the stairs, and about halfway up the stairs, the smell hit me. I looked in Warren's room to find him on the floor with poop smeared from his hips to his toes. When Olivia handed me the pull-up I didn't realize that if that much poop was on the pull up, then there must be some on him, too. I briefly looked around his room to try and figure out how poop got on so many things, then I realized it was probably better not to know, and proceeded with cleaning off my crying son. I put him in the tub, standing up, with running water and cleaned him off. I was helping him get dressed and asked, "Why did you poop in your pull-up, bud?" He said, "I just couldn't wake up." I felt bad for the kid. This is the first time this has ever happened. He only wears pull-ups to bed, and most of the time he's dry, so I'm not sure what happened. I sent Warren downstairs to watch cartoons. The next task at hand was to clean up the room. Not fun. I got my rubber gloves, filled a bucket with water, added a small scoop of laundry detergent to it, grabbed an old rag and went to work (it worked like a dream, by the way). I will spare you major details, but suffice it to say that I threw away a book, rinsed out and washed 5 articles of clothing (which is odd since he was only wearing 2 at the time), and spent a half hour scrubbing the floor. So, all that work, plus one load of laundry and a half a can of neutra-air, and we're good to go! Add this to a sad teething baby, and it's been a long couple of days. The longer I'm a mom, the more I realize that days like this are just part of the job description. They help me to appreciate the days that aren't filled with sad babies and poop. And to tell you the honest truth, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love being a mom more than anything. It's what I've wanted to do since I remember, and now that I'm in the thick of it I have no regrets. It is the hardest, most rewarding thing I have ever done, and I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing...even on days like this.

Pet Peeves

The other night we were on our way home and had to stop for a late night grocery run. I stayed in the car while Darin ran in. Since the kids were half asleep I had a few quiet moments, and instead of pondering the meaning of life or how I could improve as an individual, my train of thought somehow landed on "pet peeves". I wondered where this phrase came from. This has stayed in the back of my mind for a few days, so this morning I finally went to wikipedia to find out. Here's what I learned (from www.wikipedia.com: A pet peeve (or pet hate) is a minor annoyance that can instill extreme frustration in an individual. Typically each person has several pet peeves that aggravate her or him more than the average person. Another person may not react as negatively or at all to the same circumstance.
The term originated from the word 'peeve.' A 'peeve,' meaning something that is particularly irritating or annoying, is a relatively recent word. Its first printed usage was in 1911. The term is a back formation from a 14th-century word: 'peevish,' meaning ornery or ill-tempered.The "pet" part indicates, semi-ironically, an attachment to the peeve. Something you "love to hate". It also indicates that it is a specific peeve of that person, and probably not universal. So there you have it. I wanted to share with you one of my pet peeves, and two of Darin's (because they're a tie I have to include both). My pet peeve is being tapped or poked repeatedly to get my attention. Luckily my kids all know this now, so it doesn't happen very often. It used to be worse when they weren't aware that it bothered me because it was accompanied by ,"mom,mom,mom,mom,mom,mom". Darin's are as follows: 1) people not using their turn signals when they turn, and 2) people not returning their grocery carts. Now that I've shared I have two requests. Please don't use this information against me! I have visions of people now poking me repeatedly to get my attention! (maybe this was a mistake). The second thing I have to ask is...will you please share your pet peeve with me? I would love to hear (just because I'm curious), and it will be a lot of fun, I'm sure! I promise not to use them against you.

You Go, Girls!!!

A few weeks ago I was able to watch my good friends Julie and Mindy complete a half triathlon. We woke up early with the intent of watching Julie's daughter Lily (one of Liv's best friends) finish the kids triathlon but due to some (ahem) unfortunate circumstances she didn't make it to the race on time, and was unable to compete. Lily was so sad, but I'm sure she'll be ready for next year! I was so amazed and impressed with all the triathletes. It ALMOST inspired me to start getting ready for my own half triathlon, but as of yet, I am still in the "amazed and impressed" mode, and not quite in the "yes...I'm going to do it!" phase. It was so fun to be a part of the day, even just as a cheerleader. Jodi and Sarah also came with their cute girls (and with their wicked awesome poster) to support our girls, and Jason, Jamee and kids came and provided a bird's eye view (from the top of their SUV) for Liv and Lily to watch the biking part. We had so much fun yelling and screaming for Julie and Mindy, and I am so proud of them! We were able to witness a cute 11 year old boy who beat (actually smoked) his dad on every leg of the race, a dad who attached a smaller bike on the back of his, and a trailer on back of the smaller bike so his two kids could be with him, and most importantly, our friends finish the race STRONG!!! I still feel bad about one thing, though. During the bike portion a man who was part of the race turned and quickly asked me, "How many people are in front of me?" I was taken back by the question, and I replied, "Not many, you're really close to the front" when in all actuality I had no idea how many people were in front of him. I hope I didn't dash his hopes of being first, and I hope he doesn't harbor any ill feelings against me (even though he doesn't know who I am). It was a great day, and again, You go, Girls!!!

Summer Adventures

This has been a busy, fun week! The kids got Darin a tent for Father's Day, and really wanted to try it out. We set it up in the backyard for our Family Night activity and the three oldest slept outside with their dad. I held down the fort inside with David (someone had to), so sadly I missed out on the great outdoors. I was willing to "take one for the team" even if it meant sleeping in my own bed as opposed to a sleeping bag. They had such a great time! They loved exploring the tent and finding all the nooks and crannies. One great feature of our new tent is the shoe keeper. It stores the shoes in a handy little spot at the front of the tent, and even though Warren went out to the tent with bare feet, he had to come inside to get his shoes to put in the shoe keeper so he would be sure to know where they were in the morning. The next day we were able to go to the zoo. We had SO much fun!

The kids got to see tons of animals, including the "Ghost of the Bayou" white alligator. Liv, Sean, and Warren also got to pet two snakes and a ferret. They almost got to pet an armadillo, but he was "freaking out a little bit" in the words of Ron the animal show guy, so he (the armadillo) had to go away. It was so nice to be able to take our sweet time, and to be a "yes" mom for most of the day. The kids were all happy and exhausted at the end of the day. Tonight we all went to Strawberry Days rodeo. (This has been a big week for us...we don't usually party it up this much, I don't know what's gotten into us!) The kids' favorite part of the rodeo happened before the rodeo even started...strawberries and cream and mutton bustin' (kids riding sheep). Sean and Warren had fun under the stands where several calves were eating hay. David was ready to sleep about the time it started, so I enjoyed the last half of the rodeo down in one of the aisles trying to bounce him to sleep. When all was said and done, it was a successful family adventure. All this fun, and summer doesn't officially start till tomorrow!