What to do when there's no power....

So, yesterday afternoon, right as I was finishing up getting ready for work, the power went out. I hurried to smooth the top layers of my hair before my straightener wasn't hot anymore. Then, work called and I was called off. I was really excited...but then I realized how hot the house was with no electricity. No cooler, no fans, no air movement. We decided to get the kids out of the house...and (even though this is something I typically wouldn't allow on Sunday) let them jump on the tramp with the sprinklers. They had such a good time, stayed outside and played nicely together for more than 2 hours...it was great.

It took Talia a little while to warm up to the idea of sprinklers, but soon she was enjoying it as much as her brothers!



The cats love to snuggle with Kyle...Indy and Cosette actually had a little "skirmish" to see who would get to lay right next to him, and Cosette won this round!

Our 24th...

This is the quintessential summer pic to me...eating donuts at the pool. The little ones get away with having a lot more fun with it though....

We had a fun day with my family at my mom's pool. We are down to one car right now, and I had an appointment for my hair to be done, so there was some shuffling, but we had a good time. When we got home, Cole and I were wiped out. Talia wanted to play in the backyard, so I went out and laid on the tramp while she jumped around me. I had this great idea...we should let the boys sleep out on the tramp! They're old enough...they seemed really excited. When it was almost dark, they got settled out there.

So, how long do you think it took for them to end up back in their own beds? Not very...they came back in about halfway through Conan's monologue, so they were only outside about an hour. Oh well, at least I tried to let them have some fun.

A little video of my water baby...she did this with no help from her Daddy!

Happy 24th....

I've been tired today from my busy night at work last night...but we've been having fun anyway. Happy Pioneer Day everyone....as a descendant of pioneers, I'm feeling grateful for everything they went through to get to this place, settle, and build a community and a religion.

The boys are currently sleeping out on the tramp...I should have some pics up tomorrow (or thereabouts :))

Distracted

I've had a lot of distractions going on to keep me from posting the last week. Cole actually asked me of some of the distractions had soured me on blogging...that is definitely NOT the case, I've just been occupied with other things.

We had Alec's friend birthday party on Saturday...

I wish we'd had a better turnout...but oh well. We invited all the little boys in the area his age...I debated about the little girls as well, decided against it, and later wished we had. Oh well. He still had a great time, that's what matters.


Opening presents....Alec is wayyyyyyyyyy into Bionicles right now, so he was very excited to get this one!

We had the party at Classic Fun Center in Layton(where we had Kyle's party last December). Once again, they did a GREAT job...we didn't have to do anything but sit there and enjoy. We ordered a pizza this time, and I was surprised at how GOOD it was...it really was excellent. My only complaint was that it was quite warm inside...I guess it's hard to keep it cooled down when they have to blow so much hot air to keep the bounce area's inflated.

The funniest thing was when Cole got rollerskates (skates, not blades) on all the boys...I took some pics, with a lot of different settings on my camera, but none of them turned out...it was too dark and they were moving too fast.

We've just been coasting since then...Church on Sunday, a walk with my parents Sunday night, Monday I was on call for work...and had a massive headache, so I laid around most of the afternoon. Really not much going on...

A Concert

I had the opportunity last night to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert at the Dee Events Center. It was a "kick off" for Ogden Pioneer Days. My mom was able to get 6 tickets, and as my dad was unable to come, she invited me along. My grandparents and my sister and her husband also came. It was a really nice evening. The concert was pretty good...but they did a couple of numbers that were absolutely fantastic. They did an African tribal type song that was unbelievable. Really Cool.




I was pretty impressed with my camera...after playing around with settings I was able to get both of these shots without using the flash.

Seven

From July 2009

Alec turned 7 today. He entered our life in 2002. He was always restless...from the moment of conception, I truly believe. He tried to be born early several times, finally choosing the WORST possible day of July to be born. He was 3 1/2 weeks early, and his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice very tightly. I truly believe that if he had not been born that day, that very scary day (scary because he didn't do well through labor, and we were worried that he would be in the NICU), he may not have lived. He was born, though, weighing 6 lbs 12 oz, at 6:06 pm. So beautiful...perfect. I was blessed with a healthy, perfect baby, and I have never forgotten the enormity of that blessing.

Alec was a restless baby...until he could move on his own, he was never satisfied. Once he could get to all the places he wanted to go, we were all much happier.

From the time we moved into this house, until shortly before Talia was born, he used to come climb into bed with me almost every morning for some snuggle time. I miss that. He's a very sweet boy, with a tender heart.

(I'm getting a little emotional now...) I know he was meant to be our son, to come to our family. Cole and I always envisioned us as a family of 4. We knew that both Kyle and Talia were coming to us before they were ever even conceived. If we'd had both of them first, we may have never tried for Alec. Alec was a gift from Heavenly Father...and a challenge as most children are. I thank the Lord every day that he sent him to our family when he did. I know that without him our family would not be complete.

From July 2009

(putting his last piece on the Birthday Countdown)
I keep thinking of how important the age of 7 is...this is his last year before he reaches 8, the age of accountability. I only have 1 more year to teach him before his decisions "count", so to speak. Talk about pressure. I know, though, as he has for his entire life, he will do what he wants on his own time schedule, no one Else's. His wandering soul will probably end up traveling the globe when he's older. I can only do my best as a parent and hope he remembers the lesson's he's learned.

Today, I sang to him the moment he came upstairs. I baked all morning, took a short nap this afternoon, and then we headed over to my parent's to swim and barbecue. We had a party for Alec, with filled cupcakes (thanks to Mindy)

From July 2009

and chocolate chip cookies (because Alec doesn't like cake). He loved his presents...he mostly got money, but from his parents he got a Nintendo DS, and a new Pokemon game. His face lit up, and he hasn't wanted to put it down since. Score for Mom and Dad. I've been really tired today, but mostly it's been a good day.

From July 2009

From July 2009

Happy Birthday to my "boo"...I love you!

A change of pace...

On most Sunday Nights, during the Spring, Summer, and Autumn, my parents take their dog Bitzi for a walk. My kids and I like to join them. I enjoy the walk part, and talking with my parents. The kids enjoy the fact that we usually walk from my parent's house to my brother's house...and when we get there, they can play with their cousins. However, last night my Mom called to tell me that they had a different idea in mind. They wanted to go to downtown Ogden and see all the painted horses that are up for Pioneer Days. They had seen a couple the night before while down at the Junction, and figured they could walk around and see the rest. I thought it sounded like fun. Kyle chose not to go, but Alec and Talia came along as well.

It was quite warm, but that didn't bother us much. It took us about 1 1/2 hours, but we think we saw them all. Here are some pics of some of my favorites.


This "Constitution" one was spectacular....





This pink, purple, and jeweled one was easily one of my favorites!


I love Candy!


The contrast of this one was cool....


My kiddos loved the Dinosaur park one!

It really was fun, I'm glad we got to do it.

Low Key....

Our 4th of July was pretty low key this year. I worked the night of the 3rd. It was slow, but fun thanks to a fun bunch of people who were there. Apparently, no one wants to give birth on July 4th (intentionally, anyway). Go Figure. Cole took the kids to his Aunt and Uncle's for the annual sleep out in the driveway. It rained on them, Alec kept sitting up in his sleep, waking Talia, who would then whine and cry. Cole had a restless night. I'm kind of glad I wasn't there. ;)

I came home after work and went to bed. I got up around 11, to find Cole on the couch enduring a migraine, and the kids downstairs watching a movie. We got meds into Cole, got lunch for the kids, and put Talia down for her nap. After naps for Talia and Cole, we headed over to my parents to go swimming.

We had a nice, relaxing afternoon hanging out with my family. We did kind of an appetizer buffet...complete with donuts and Lofthouse cookies from my Gran..always a big hit with the kids. We swam, relaxed and talked.

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

After swimming, we stopped by Cole's family's barbeque for a little while. All the kids were running through the sprinklers and having a great time, so ours decided to join in as well.

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

After we got home, we waited for dusk, and lit off a few fireworks of our own.

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

It was a good day.

The "Family"

This is the "Family". Here's how it started.....

During last year's Christmas shopping, I had seen a "My First Dollhouse" early in Novemeber. I kept it in mind, and when it came time for my parents to get Talia something, it seemed perfect. However, by that time, I was unable to find it in ANY store locally. We ended up paying more money to buy it over the internet. I was really excited about it, but she was lukewarm in her feelings toward it...Until she turned 2. Shortly after her second birthday, all of a sudden she was ALWAYS playing with the dollhouse. Both with the Family, and with all of her little animals. Lately, though, the Mommy, Daddy, and the Baby come EVERYWHERE with us. In the shower, to the pool, to the store, in the car...it amazes me how she mimics the dynamics of our household with her little toys. I also love that she loves playing with "action figure" type dolls.

Thinking about this new milestone...the need for a specific toy as a security object...made me think about the boys and their favorite toddler toys. For Kyle, it was "pica and char", aka Picachu and Charmander, characters from the show "Pokemon" that were the toppers on his first birthday cake. Alec's favorite was a Buzz Lightyear...a minature sized one. We had several of them, but for him it always had to be a specific one....now for the boys, all they want is their video games.
I miss the simpler days.

Also this week, on my day off I went shopping. I had birthday money to spend, and coupons to a couple of my favorite stores. I stopped in at Babies R Us...I had a coupon and wanted to know if they'd started putting out their fall stuff. We were looking around, and next think I knew, Talia had grabbed a really cute shirt off the nearest rack. She held it up next to her body, looked up at me, smiled, and said," So Cute! Princess,". I couldn't help but laugh...and buy it for her with my coupon. I know...I'm in trouble. But it's such fun trouble.