Honey Do Day

Yesterday was a great day...had Matt home all day, and with one car in the shop, and the other not quite working well, we decided to stay at home. :) So we cleaned, mowed the lawn, rode bikes, and...got an unexpected new toy for Scott!



This is the newest version of an old toy my Dad made for us when we were little kids...the original kitchen set. We took the fridge that Matt built for Scott last Christmas and tore it apart and made it into this hutch...a kid's kitchen can always use a face-lift, right? Love my handyman who does the spur-of-the-moment stuff his crazy wife asks! (Although, I think he enjoyed doing this more than what we had originally planned...washing the car).

And yes, I did say that we rode bikes yesterday - Scott has a new bike!! Our totally awesome, cool, nicest friends ever gave us this awesome new bike for Scott, and he can't get enough of it - mealtimes are a waste of time, and naps are only allowed because after them he can ride his bike. Our little speed demon...ahhhh. The best part is when he crashes, he jumps right back up and on the bike while yelling over his shoulder, "I'm OKAY!"

August Recap

Looking back through my pictures today (cleaning up the HD again), I realized that it has been a while since I posted!! Argh. So here you go, August in fast forward...
Coupla trips to visit the Grandparents - on set in St. George and the other set in Mission Viejo: There is this WAY cool park in downtown St. George with a fun waterfall and river through it - still can't get the red rock stains out of Scott's onesie. Trip to MV complete with a stop at Disneyland, the Irvine Regional Park, and the Beach...Scott apparently felt it was due time Luke learned how to Boogie Board. The second trip to CA in August also included a cameo by Matt!! He took me to Disneyland for my birthday and we celebrated the weekend away with Mom and Dad and Sarah, Austin & Luke doing the usual...Disneyland, Beach, and Fashion Island - but a special treat was an Angel's Game! We met the pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles...friend of a friend kinda deal - love that. We love having Matt with us. And of course - Sarah is always good for some fun entertainment. :)

THEN, we were home two days from our trip to CA and turned around and went to Utah...of course, football season has started - why else? We visited family, played with cousins, grandparents, enjoyed the weather and even made it up to Donut Falls on a hike (it's a must-go). So now we're back and enjoying being home after running around for the month - stay tuned for the next update!!

Lake Powell/Time Warp

We had one of the best Lake Powell trips this year! The beach was great, the water warm, the sun hot, skiing awesome, Grandpa's boat "super fast", and the family lots of fun. Topped off with good food and sparklers, what more could we ask? I love Lake Powell - still thinking of a way we could have a floating ice cream stand and make a killing going up and down the beach at Lone Rock. :)

I think, though, that Lake Powell was a time warp and we re-entered our life in a different place...some good and some bad. Good = Matt's new job. He's loving it and having fun and (dare I say it?) actually WORKING. Imagine that. Bad = I was laid off from my job. They decided to hire a management company to run the books and crew to hopefully make a profit, so that means I'm out of a job. While I understand and applaud the financial strategy, I'm completely frustrated and upset about losing the paycheck and unhappy about how it all went down. It would have been nice to have a little bit more of a head's up - considering they were friends - but I guess that's not how they roll. So we're trying to quickly adjust to the new changes - why does it seem like they happen all at once? Good = everything will work out like it always has. :)

My Dad

I love the fact that my dad is always there for me...especially at the most important days in my life: mission, graduations, weddings, trips, birthdays at Disneyland, birth of my son. But really, my dad is there for me every day of my life - I'm the luckiest girl in the world. Love you Dad.

Swim School

These last few weeks Scott has been asking to go to school...I know, my kid all the way. But I have to tell him he can't go to school until he's 4. After a very disappointed look, he usually insists that he's going to go to school when he's 3, not 4. Well. However, today we were able to compromise a little and send him to "swimming school"!! We started swim lessons yesterday, and this was Scott's first lesson without me in the water with him (however, I was prepared to get right in - spoiled, I know). Much to my surprise (and secret sadness), he did just fine without me, especially when I told him he would be going to swim school. *Sniff Sniff* Is this a shadow of things to come for Kindergarten?

This is a picture from Memorial Day - I was so prepared to be in the water yesterday that I didn't take my camera! More pictures to come...

They DO Listen

Making muffins this morning reminded me that Scott does actually listen to what I say...I had him sitting on the counter while we stirred the muffin mix, and he scooted over to the sink while saying "Mom, I need to wash my feet". I tried to stop him, but he insisted and pleaded his case by saying, "Mom, I need to wash my feet...they're crusty".

New Item!

My mom has been making nighties for all her granddaughters for years, and my sisters and I decided it's time to share them with the world. They are too cute to pass up and perfect for making your little girls feel like the princesses they are (without having to pay exuberant prices from Disneyland.) Take a look at the pics, and if you're interested, let me know! The colors come in Pretty Pink, Diamond White, Daffodil Blue, Wildflower Purple, and Razzle Red - the sizes run from 12mo-7/8.

Swaps

I love being able to swap out work with friends. This past week, I helped my friend Karen with her website (http://karenephotography.com), and she was awesome enough to "pay me back" - like I would ever charge her anything - by taking some pictures of Scott. And as you can see, she has the ability to capture a personality! She is an awesome photographer, and if you haven't seen her work, check out her website, and be sure to book early as she is in high demand.












The other swap I have is with my awesome friend Keli - she and I swap playdates with our boys and it is so nice! No worrying about paying a babysitter for a couple of hours, the boys love to play together, and moms get a little time to do stuff without their favorite helpers. Thanks to my sis Wendy who suggested the idea!

New Website for Dad

For all of you out there who follow this blog...if you are in need of a remodel, please go to this website : http://www.cotswoldconstruction.com. Cotswold Construction is owned by my dad and he does AMAZING work. Check out the site to see his handiwork - and yes, he is willing to come to Vegas for a job (he's got free room and board here as well as dibs on Matt's tools). I know I'm a little biased, but I think he's the best at what he does. ;)

Jet Ski Problem

So this year we're finally going to go to the annual Dunyon Family Lake Powell trip!! Scott is at the perfect age to go - even though we'll be dealing with diapers still - and we're already planning. I found out about a month ago that my dad and brothers sold the jet skis we've had forever...probably because we've had them forever...and now we're on the hunt for some rentals. So any of my blog fans out there within reasonable driving distance of Las Vegas: anyone interested in renting us some jet skis for a week this summer? Let me know...we'll hook it all up.

Cast if OFF!

We made it! 32 days with a cast on a two-year-old almost beat us, but we made it...even through sand at the beach, sand at playgrounds, and a lot of vinegar. Yes - you can disinfect a cast with vinegar (I would recommend apple cider or rice vinegar - not such a strong smell). Scott watched the un-casting with all the curiosity of a two-year-old and loves telling people about it, sound effects included. (Bzzzzzz goes the saw). He's using his right arm now without me having to remind him all the time, but I'm wondering if he really will be a lefty now, after a month of restricted use. We'll see. And of course, we already have him back to work.

To keep the attention off the arm, we kept busy with a trip to California for a week and then a trip to Arizona for a week! I realized after we got home that we missed four Sundays in a row in our ward...needless to say, Matt and I were asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting last Sunday. Our trips were a blast, though!






The trip to California included Luke's baby blessing, complete with all the family we could muster for the quick weekend, a ride on the train to Oceanside after missing our stop in San Clemente (but hey, Jenny and I had four kids under the age of 4 to move quickly off the train...can you blame us?), a couple of trips to the beach, a day at Irvine Park with another train ride and the zoo, an awesome day at Disneyland where we saw Mark Wahlberg (so hot right now), visiting Matt's parents as well, and the Mission Viejo 1st Ward Roadshow performance (Broadway, here they come)! Really, what more could we ask for? Oh yeah - the best weather in the world all week long - so warm, in fact, that we made an emergency trip to Target for shorts and t-shirts.

The trip to Arizona was to stay with Wendy and Jared's children while they went on a cruise to Mexico (I think they got the better deal for the week), so not as much fun as the California trip, but still, it was a ball! Sarah and Luke came for the week, too, so I wasn't totally alone (hallelujah) so we were able to keep all the chillen's busy at the park, playing the wii, in Wendy and Kim's awesome backyards, at the awesome Scary House, at school and everywhere in between. Scott and Lizzy are going to try out for the "So You Think You Can Dance" show - see the audition clip below, and please send in your votes! It was fun to be with Cole, Kate and Lizzy for the week and get to know their little habits and cute ways. Scott is totally going through withdrawals of having to be with just Mommy again after being highly entertained all week long by his awesome cousins.


Whew, so now we're home and finally back into our groove here and back with Matt (wonderful guy for letting us have fun while he stays home to work)! We're loving the warmer weather and have spent every moment outside...especially nice with the cast off, too - I'm sure the warm weather would have made the cast thing even tougher!

A DAY LATE

As our previous post has stated, we put Scott into a big bed about a month ago. The transition wasn't going as smoothly as we had hoped, both Jill and I weren't getting much sleep, and it was starting to wear on us. So we decided to put Scott back in his crib. He actually has slept better in his crib than in his big bed, however, he can still climb out of his crib. This was a little worrisome to both Jill and I as we didn't want him to fall out and hurt himself. So Jill was able to find one of those tents that you put on top of the crib so the child can't climb out. It arrived Wednesday evening after we had put Scott to bed. We thought, ah, we'll put it on tomorrow since Scott was already sound asleep.

The next morning Jill came in the bedroom to check on Scott and saw him climbing out of the crib and thought, "I want to see how he does this" so she proceeded to watch from a few feet away. Instead of climbing down out of his crib like usual, he decided to jump down and landed on all fours! Unfortunately his right arm caught the brunt of it.

The little guy has braved his "scratch" well (as he likes to call it). He loves showing it to people and gets lots of sympathy from all around. It's been amazing to see how quickly he has adjusted to just having one usable arm. The doctor said he should adjust within a few hours, and he wasn't kidding. Here's a picture of him sleeping last night. Even though he has adjusted to the use of one arm, his left eye still requires a pacifier to fall asleep, otherwise, he's up all night, just one eye open.

Snowshoeing

Last Saturday we enjoyed one of the perks of Matt's calling as the Teacher's Quorum advisor over Scouting...a trip to the snow to snowshoe! We rented the snowshoes from REI, and even found a pair that would fit Scott!! It was so much fun! We hiked, played in the snow, sledded (slid) down some fun hills and passed out in the car on the way home. And the Scouts had fun, too. :) Of course Scott wore the snowshoes for about 2 minutes, but he did walk around in them like the big boys. And yes, he could put his arms down in his outfit.

Totally recommend this as an outing - we're probably going again this weekend. It's also fun to stop and have a little break with some hot chocolate, too!

Awesome friends

Our neighbors Stuart and Jayne are from England, here on a three-year stint with the Royal Navy (go figure, who knew that the Royal Navy would need people in Vegas?). Of course we have a special connection with the British stuff...I can actually understand all the terms they use - like braces, trousers and boot, so they totally commiserated with me when I told them I had the hardest time finding a Yorkshire pudding pan. Well - just to show what great friends they are, their daughter Hannah and her husband Gary came into town this weekend, and Stuart popped by to drop off a little gift for me...a Yorkshire Pudding pan!! I know, it's hard to really get excited about it if you've never had them before, but trust me - it's a big deal. Sunday Roast dinner just isn't the same without Yorkshire pudding. So here's a picture of Yorkshire pudding and my new pan - and apparently, they're not that easy to come by in London, either, but Hannah now knows where to find them, so if you're looking...

Recap

A lot has gone on these past few weeks, so here's a brief recap:

First, we had Mom and Grandma and Grandpa Storer here for a few days to celebrate Jenny's birthday and Ellie's birthday! Grandma and Grandpa got to stay here at our house, and spoiled Scott silly as Great-grandparents are supposed to do. Of course, Scott loved every minute of it...I still can't believe that my 88 year old Grandpa can rough and tumble with the littlest of them.
We celebrated Jenny's birthday and Ellie's birthday while they were here, and shopped, cleaned and played the entire time. Mom really helped Jenny with her house, and it looks fantastic...even Madison and Ellie's new room (ask Jen for details).

We also got to see Aaron, Brooke, Emma, Heidi and Grace while they were here to see the Lion King! Aaron and Brooke took Emma to the show, so we got to play with Heidi and Grace for the day...again, hard to rip the kids away from Jenny's house. I think they just need to move back here. :)

Next, we found out that Sarah came down with shingles last weekend, and as a last minute decision, I decided to pack up Scott and head through the rainy weather to Dad and Mom's house to meet her there to help her recover and take care of Baby Luke. Austin was so good about her leaving him alone for a few days so I could help her, and after holing up for a few days and waiting out the rainy week, she headed home a little better than when she came. Scott had a ball with Baby Luke - this is the first baby Scott has been around, and I think he enjoyed the idea that there was another person smaller than him! (This picture is of Scott teaching Luke how to give bones - I think Luke figured it out pretty quickly - he takes bones very seriously). He was very helpful and soft with Baby Luke - and of course, got some more Grandpa time...this time from both Grandpas and great-Grandpa. Everyday I have to tell Scott that we can't go to Grandpa's house today. Heartbreaker.

We made it back through all the rain and snow (yes, it does snow in Vegas every now and again), and are back home in our own beds...that leads me to our latest update...Scott is now in a big boy bed!!!

Two weeks ago we came home from Church, put Scott in his crib for his afternoon nap, and not two seconds later, there he was in the kitchen! I took him back, took out the bumper pads, moved the dresser away from the crib and tucked him in...no such luck. He easily scaled the crib and jumped out. He even figured out that if he took his socks off, he could get a better grip on the railings. Yikes. So we dismantled the crib and put him in his new bed.

So, of course, we're back to the sleepless nights. At least once a night I get the tiny voiced wake up call next to my bed "Mommy?" - why do they never go over to daddy's side of the bed? At least I'm lucky that he allows me to take him by the hand and walk him back to bed. No fuss. He'll just lie there in bed as long as one of us is sitting in the rocking chair until he falls asleep. Today, however, I left the room at naptime and he actually stayed in bed! Ahhh, sweet progress. We'll see if it lasts.

So that's where we are for now!

Happy New Year

Welcome 2010! So, which is the correct way to say this year, is it "two-thousand ten", or "twenty ten"? I've heard both, what's the consensus?

Our Christmas and New Year's holidays were just as wonderful as can be...especially with our two-year-old in the fray. This was the year that Scott finally caught on to the whole gift idea and that presents were for him and cool stuff was inside. It all started with his birthday, and now anything that is wrapped with pretty paper and a bow doesn't remain wrapped with pretty paper and a bow for very long. I also can't keep a candle lit for more than 3 minutes after his birthday party...so if our house smells more of sulfur than magnolias, that's the reason why.

Enjoy the pics of the festivities...that's all I'm posting this time - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The Cake...before/during assembly

The finished product...we have a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse fanatic here.

The Chef