The Reason

The reason migraine medicine was created.

Summer

Can I just say I'm through? I'm over you Summer. Be gone. Farewell. Good-bye. Bon Voyage. Good riddance.




(Yes, the kids are smiling at this moment but can usually be found/heard fighting. Hence the picture....an actual happy moment)





I can only come up with so many ideas, and read so many books. The kids are over the slip n' slide, and the kiddy pool, and playing with the garden hose.

I've been feeling couped up and crabby all week and the kids are climbing the walls. In an act of inspiration or desperation I pulled out a bunch of cooking stuff the other day and had the kids "cook."

And dare I say it? I think the Popsicles may have lost their magical powers....to keep the children "entertained" outside.
Wesley now uses them as "pens" and scribbles all over the ground. Today he decided to "draw" on the screen door and then lick it off. Nice.

I want to let the kids go hog wild at the park. I want fresh air, and evening walks. I want warm sweaters, cool breezes, and fuzzy socks.

Goodbye Summer-I'm so over you!

Last Year

While posting pics for this August I came across my file of August photos from last year and couldn't help but peek around. What a difference a year makes!! Last August we went to a family reunion in Idaho, and to California for a college roommate reunion, and on the way over we stopped at the Grand Canyon. These were my photos favorites.........

Aug. 07

Aug. 07

Sienna Fair

So a couple of weeks ago some kids at the gym told Sienna that she was "ugly" and that they didn't want to play with her. I was heartbroken. It really hurt her feelings. Nathan and I have been on a campaign to boost Sienna's confidence ever since. I think we may have succeeded because yesterday she came up to me and said,

"Mom you're beautiful like me!"

Funny Dance

A video of Sienna showing off her mad dance skills when Aunt Mimi (my sister Marissa) came to visit. Sienna does this funny dance a lot to make Wesley laugh. It works like a charm.
P.S. none of the other videos attached are mine....

Summer Lovin

Aunt Mimi came to see us again! She must be a glutton for punishment! Or that every once and awhile she needs a break from her hectic life in L.A. Here's what we did....

We took my sister to this new water park called Mesquite Groves. It was probably one of the most fun days we've had with the kids this year. There was a lazy river (float on intertubes with kids), there were big slides, a vortex pool, and this little jungle gym that dumped out water every few minutes.

We loved it! Of course Maris and I really just wanted to sit on our bums and get some sun...but that was not happening with 2 crazy little ones. Sienna spent the majority of her time on these puppies....she has no fear!

Marissa and I went to the movies and saw "Made of Honor" (which was regrettable), and paid a visit to our favorite store Hobby Lobby! I also introduced her to Cafe Rio...which you could say she liked.......... she did finish 90% of her meal before I got back from the restroom. We made cookies with the kids, caught up on each others news, and hung out. We always love when Mimi comes!

Fun with Mimi

Aunt Mimi brought "boy toys" for Wesley-a baby basketball, a mini golf club set (which he loved but we had to commandeer due to the many "incidents" that the clubs incurred). She also gave him a Frisbee which she taught him how to throw. Wesley loved it.

Isn't she the cutest "Little Mermaid"? Or at least a very interesting interpretation of one?? The outfit and accessories were dress-up presents from my sister- thanks Aunt Mimi, she wore this for days!

And if that weren't enough-my sister even got to see a rainbow. She says she's never seen one........which is probably true. She lives in L.A.

Free Will

Nathan: "I love you, you know...."

Me: "Because you're morally obligated to.....or of your own free will and choice?"

Nathan: "Because I'm morally obligated to."

Weather Report

While driving into town a few weeks ago I was blown away by these storm clouds. July I think, is the official beginning of Monsoon season (crazy rain and flash floods) here in Arizona. I took these pictures just before a downpour.

July......has been interesting. Okay that's a lie...it was probably the worst month for me this year. It seemed to me that as the temperature soared my patience plummeted. We were all especially grouchy this month. The kids fought so much it was insane. I'm talking within 1-3 minutes of sharing the same oxygen they were screaming at each other. It was as if they hated each other. I played referee for 8-12 hours everyday. I would literally wake-up...to the sound of one them crying and say a quick prayer," Heavenly Father, please help me not to kill my children. Amen."
Granted Wesley is on the brink of 2 (heaven help us all). And like most 2 year-olds, he is hot-tempered, feisty, loud, moody and selfish (or is that just my 2 year-olds?). He screeches and squawks like no other. I think because it's so hot we, like most everyone else, avoid going out as much as possible so the kids are cooped up and climbing the walls. There were lots of things going on in July that contributed to the chaos....but whatever the reason it was the "perfect storm."
But......I survived without losing all hope and feeling like a failure as a Mom (by the skin of my teeth). The remedy?? lots of crying, praying, pep talks from Mom, daily doses of Popsicles, 4 new church cds (to play in the living room, in the car, in the playroom etc.), and a few strategically placed kiddy gates to separate them for awhile. So after looking through this month's pictures.....I did manage to find some silver lining amidst all the clouds...........

Silver Lining

These moments were the "silver lining" in this month......

The first was the moment when Nathan was reading Wesley a book and Wesley pointed to a picture and said, "Jesus." Melt my heart! I taught him that!! A few days earlier Wesley and I had been looking at a different book filled with pictures of Jesus. And each time we saw Him I would hold Wesley's little finger and tap the picture and say "Jesus. Jesus." Knowing that I taught him something so special makes all the suffering these last few weeks worth while.

The other moment was when Nathan was speeding reading the Book of Mormon to Sienna before the bus came. He was reading to her the story about the 2,000 Stripling Warriors and talked about how the sons learned about faith from their mothers. And Sienna said, "Like Mommy teaches me!!". Nathan looked surprised and I felt a surge of pride- ok a lot of pride. I had just talked to her about faith the day before. What do you know? Some things do sink in. I don't want to seem like I'm bragging...all I'm saying is that instead of feeling like the worst mother in the world....remembering these moments made me feel like a RockStar!

But the moment that takes the cake....maybe the best moments of this year happened at church a few weeks ago. During Sacrament meeting our ward choir sang a beautiful song that was a combination of 3-4 other songs put together. I could feel the Spirit within seconds of it beginning. It was so moving, so touching, and so profound.

Sienna was nestled between Nathan and my arms and we could both sense that she was feeling the Spirit too. It was the first time. She had this dreamy look on her face, and her eyes were filled with tears, and she just took turns looking up and Nathan and I smiling and hugging us. We held her and stroked her face. It was so apparent that she was feeling something but didn't know how to express it in words. I can't explain in words how it felt for us....but it was the most beautiful, sweet, tender moments of this year-to watch my sweet daughter feel the Spirit for the first time.

A very cute picture considering their dangerously close proximity to each other

Flowers delivered to me from Bubba (my brother Matt) "just because"

A very sleepy Sienna going back to school


Ummmm, just because it cracks me up



Sienna surprising me with one of her latest creations- a "Girl Tie" which has Disney Princess stickers on it (also made a custom design girl tie for Aunt SuSu)

Lucky Number 7

Exactly 7 years ago....on August 4th Nathan and I were married in the Temple. I will say this, I am so glad we were friends first.

We got to know each other as friends and had a great Spring and Summer together. He ran mundane errands with me, we did homework together, and we talked on the phone almost everyday. He and his roommates were very protective of me and my roommates- almost like older brothers.

But things took a different turn in the Fall. We started dating and things were too good too fast. Every time I could see the altar in my horizon I'd bolt. But Nathan was so good to me, so thoughtful, and romantic. We dined on tuna sandwiches, top ramen and cereal. We were poor and young and in love.

We have been through a lot....but there hasn't been a day,where I haven't thanked Heavenly Father for Nathan and our marriage. He is the best- or maybe just the best for me. I love our relationship together and feel we have a rock solid marriage. I think we are very lucky. How can we be married for so many years and still be so in love?

So, I saw this on someone else's blog. It's a list of quirky, or interesting things about your marriage. So in our case, I had to come up with 7 things....at first it was hard and then it was so easy I came up with 17!

1. We were married exactly 5 weeks when 9/11 happened

2. We've lived in UT, CA, SC, and AZ

3. We moved 8 times in 7 years (yup, that's right folks)

4. We both worked as servers at an Italian restaurant in Provo

5. Been kicked out of our apt mid-semester (to make room for a favorite grandchild!)

6. We weren't able to watch each other graduate from BYU because our ceremonies were on the same day and time

7. We've driven across the country in our Kia Sephia (it took 4 days)
8. Longest we've been away from each other was 16 days (I was in Europe with family while he trained for work in Georgia)

9. We went to Mexico for our honeymoon

10. Celebrated our first anniversary in North Carolina (lived in SC for an internship)

11. Lived in a 495 sq. foot apt. (the living room was the bedroom with a bed that dropped out of a closet that bumped into our coffee table that butted up to couch that hit the wall)

12. Our first day back at school after our wedding and honeymoon we cried- it would be our first day we'd be without each other (it's true honey, don't deny it- I remember where we were)

13. We've flown over the ocean in a helicopter to Catalina Island

14. Had our 1st car rear-ended and totaled after only 5 days of owning it (enter dumpy Kia)

15. Favorite weekend get-a-way was to South Beach, Miami (reward for winning a work competition)

16. We were married in the Oakland, CA Temple

17. We've kissed on top of a volcano

These are probably just as surprising and interesting to Nathan since he forgets everything!! I love you honey- Happy Anniversary

Space Cadets

Not gonna lie...it's been a really rough couple of weeks for me. But- Sienna said the cutest thing to me the other day, "Mom...... I love you all the way to outer space!"

(which fits since I look like a sleepy alien and Sienna looks like a hyper one)