Service with a smile...

On Saturday, the compassionate service leader asked me to take dinner to a sister who had recently had a baby. She told me the sister was less active, not married, and living with her (and she didn't know what to call him) "husband". I told her it would fine and that Monday would be best for me.

Today I ran some food over there, and no one answered the door. To top things off, as I parked my car, a lady in another car was glaring at me. As I headed towards the yard of the family I had cooked for, she said very rudely, "Excuse me. You parked in my spot (public road). " I explained that I would only be a couple of minutes because I was delivering food to someone who had a baby. She said, "I had to park in my landlord's spot." Once again I explained that I would be gone in a couple of minutes and she could park right after I left. She then said, very snottily, "I can't come back outside." Snarl. She was so mean. Maybe she had a bad day, but do not take it out on the person that was trying to do something nice for someone else.

Busy week

It has been an insanely busy week and I am soooooooo very tired. I should go to bed, but I keep distracting myself. We cleaned all day yesterday and everything looked so good for today's realtor tour...except that it got cancelled. We did have someone come look at the house today. His realtor said he liked it but was going to talk it over with his dad. I hope that means we will get an offer soon.

I just finished reading P.S. I love you. It made me cry. I don't want to lose my husband or my kids or any of my loved ones anytime soon. I don't know who sings a song that has gone through my head a lot, but some of the words are "let me watch my children grow, to see what they become...oh Lord don't let that cold wind blow till I'm too old to die young." That is a prayer that I have in my heart always.

Today was library day. We went and returned the books we had checked out a couple of weeks ago and got a new batch. Joseph got a lot of bug books. He also chose 2 signing time dvds. He enjoys signing, especially plane. In our last batch, he really loved a book called Barnyard Lullaby. I made up a tune to what the barnyard animals were singing to their babies. He really likes the I Spy books. We got another 2 of those in this batch. He did not enjoy the Simple People by Tedd Arnold. He loved the book Tuesday by David Wiesner. It is a picture book about frogs that one night inexplicably fly on their lily pads and have various adventures. We "read" that one a lot. In our last batch, he really enjoyed Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. It was super cute. It is the story of man who uses something till he loses it and even then creates
something out of nothing.

I have started to read to Samuel and let him play with books. He is so cute and grabbing anything that is close enough to reach. He also still does his butt bounce to move forward. He is rolling all over the place and almost rolled off our bed the other day. I caught him before he did. Samuel definitely wants to move around more. He almost got into a crawling position. It is cute to watch Joe with him because he anticipates being tickled and looks over at his daddy and laughs and smiles. He reaches out to Joe a lot. He rolls onto his back and onto his belly and "crawls" without using his arms. It is usually a face plant and push himself forward with his legs till he reaches what he wants. One of his favorite pasttimes at the moment is to empty the diaper bag out when he is close to it. Today I put something back in and he promptly took it out again and did this multiple times as I tried to put it away. Samuel is also getting used to the idea that if he is standing up and people try to walk with him, he can move his feet.

Joseph is so cute with Samuel. He loves his little brother. It doesn't mean that he doesn't take away toys that he is playing with, but he likes to hug and kiss him lots. He checks on him periodically when he is napping and will run in to say that he is good.

Joseph likes to make up songs that always begin "Once upon a time" and then he sings about whatever. He is experimenting with laughing right now and has a very weird laugh at the moment. He also tells stories about different things and will say, "that is the end of that story." He still loves dinosaurs, bugs, cars, animals, books, and berries.

I love my boys so much. They are so great and so beautiful. Heavenly Father has blessed me with 2 of his precious children! They have such calm temperments overall and are patient when I need to get things done. It doesn't mean they don't demand attention now and again, but they wait for me.

Samuel's new sleeping position

I don't know how he finds this comfortable, but this is how we always find him sleeping these days.

What is funny about the way he sleeps is that he sometimes gets stuck with his head like this and gets frustrated. He napped in a diaper today because it is hot in our house. Our swamp cooler is getting fixed in the next couple of days.

Sardines...

Yesterday was the last $2 day of the month, so I had told Joseph we would go to the Museum of Ancient Life (aka Dinosaur Museum). We were going to go with Brittney and her kids, but they were sick. We did run into her sister, Heather, at the museum. When we got there, the line was out the door and we had to wait a little over 20 minutes just to get in to pay. We went through the starry night and hurried to the water and sand table.
Standing room only in the dinosuar excavation area. Joseph was having fun till someone took his brush. I don't know if they took it or he put it down and someone grabbed it. There were not enough to go around.

"I told you it would be busy..." I like this because it looks like Samuel is telling Joseph something. Joseph wanted Samuel to wear the same outfit as him. I was trying to change it because Samuel drooled all over the shirt. I had to let it dry before we went so he could wear it.

Joseph finally found a place to play. He had to wedge himself in after walking around looking for someplace to play. It was insanity. There were sooooo many people.

Just to catch up

Today was a nice day. I got to nap (thanks sweetie!!). Joe and Joseph built a bird house. Joseph was so excited to be making something with his daddy. Here he is in his little work apron from Home Depot.
My two handymen.

Joseph and daddy with the birdhouse they built. Joe cut the pieces from lots of scrap wood that we have had from various other projects.

Here they are painting it. Joseph loves to paint.

Here is the assembly process at the very start of the project. I ran in to shower while Samuel was trying to get to sleep. He has had a runny nose which makes sleeping very difficult for him and consequently, very difficult for us as well since he is in our room at the moment.

On Thursday we went to Discovery Park in Pleasant Grove. My former office mate, Emily, called me on Wednesday so that we could get together. She had her nephew Ammon with her. Here are Joseph and Ammon playing together. He is only a few months younger than Joseph, but a lot taller.

Jospeh loved the park. He ran around everywhere and told daddy that it was a park meant to be for kids to go without their mommy or daddy. He said he would hide from me when I was trying to find him. It was a fun park, but very hard to keep track of the kids.

Here is a picture of one half of the park. It is really a nice park. I liked it a lot. Too bad it isn't closer, otherwise we would go more often.

Conversation:

Joseph: "No one is buying our house."
Mommy: "I know. Someone will buy it though."
Joseph: "Yeah. And you know who will help?"
Mommy: "Who will help? "
Joseph: "Jesus will help. He has all power."
Mommy: "That is true. Jesus will help us sell our house."

I love the faith that he has. I just pray that mine is as strong. :)

The Gardens at Thanksgiving Point

Yesterday we had a fun day at the gardens at Thanksgiving Point. We went with Brittney, her sister Heather and all the kids. We are taking advantage of the $2 per person price tag on Tuesdays for the month of August. It was a relatively cool day all things considered. Yet again, I forgot to post in chronological order, so the pictures are in reverse.
Can you spy the little frog, who sits on a pad and not on a log?

The fish in the pond were more than happy to accept the food that was tossed to them. They would swim over each other, jump out of the water, and beg for food.

The lily pads were really nice. I don't know why this picture loaded sideways. I guess it looks better that way...

Feeding frenzy. Joseph and Bryan fed the fish. There were so many of them.

Samuel, Ariana, and Cambria. All 3 babies after their feeding. We stopped in a shady spot because all of us had to feed the babies. My baby looks so giant next to the petite little girls that we were with. Of course, Ariana looks almost as tall as Samuel even though she is 3 months younger than him.

Matty, Joseph, and Bryan. I couldn't get the boys to smile for the camera.

Joseph exploring the "wild" terrain. He enjoyed running around with his friends.

Joseph in the bear cave. The children's garden has a Noah's ark theme, so you follow the animal prints to where they make their new homes after they exit the ark.

Noah's ark is a little splash area, so I had to convince Joseph to play in the water. He liked to stay at the edge kicking and splashing water at people (we talked about it afterwards). He never got under the elephant squirting water from its trunk, nor the llamas spitting water from their mouths, or any of the water features that sprayed water at people. Brittney's little boys were in and under the water everywhere they could be. I guess it is nice that Joseph is so cautious?

It was really cold water and the day was cooler than last week. That didn't stop the boys or the hundreds of other kids that were all over the place.

We all loaded up into Brittney's van. A van full of carseats and kids! You can see Bryan and Joseph talking to Samuel.

We ate lunch at a park in American Fork. Samuel and Cambria played together for awhile. It was mostly Cambria looking on as Samuel grabbed at things and tried to put them into his mouth.

Samuel at the beginning of the day. He looked so handsome! You can't see it in this picture, but he has his daddy's hair.

Mission companion visit

On Saturday, one of my mission companions dropped by for a visit. Hermana Nielsen, now Danika Wuehler, dropped by with her little girl. It was a lot of fun to catch up and talk to her. While on the mission, we worked hard and had a lot of fun. She is funny, witty, smart, and very beautiful. Of course, she wouldn't let me take a picture with her because she didn't feel so pretty. I hope that before she leaves Utah, she drops by again so we can get one picture together (if you are reading this Danika...it is a not so subtle hint). I know we aren't as young or as thin as we were on the mission, but I would love to have an "after" shot.

This is her little girl Liesel. She looks like her daddy. The girl definitely has her mother's outgoing personality. ;)

Joseph was a little shy at first, but then he started chasing her everywhere. He enjoys it when little kids come and visit.

Joseph's first talk

Today Joseph gave his first talk in church. It was in primary and it was on temples. To prepare for the talk, Joseph and I went to D.I. to find a picture of the temple. It was late and the only nice pics of the temple that we have are packed away somewhere. The one that is out right now is really large. We found a small frame and picture of the Logan temple.

Yesterday and today we practiced what he would say. He set up the picture and would say, "Families can stay together. We need to be good in church." I would ask him, "Why are temples special?" He would answer, "Because God and Jesus live there." Each time, what he said would vary a little from this. I also would encourage him to say that we make promises to God in the temple.

Today we dressed him up for church and put on his little tie (I will post a couple of pictures later). Primary finally started and we got up for his talk. I set up the picture on the podium. He said,"You need to be good at church." I asked him why temples are special and he said, "God and Jesus talk to people there." I asked what temples do. He repeated the question and then I told him that families could be together forever. He repeated that as well. He then mentioned that we make promises to God to be good. It was such a sweet little talk. I think he forgot what he practiced, but he did such an amazing job. He wasn't nervous. His little high pitched voice had every adult in the room smiling.

After church he was a bit disappointed because he said he didn't give his talk. I told him he had in primary and he said his teachers didn't let him. I think he thought he was also going to talk in his sunbeam class.

Joseph...I am so proud of you. You make me so happy and I am grateful that Heavenly Father blessed me with such a sweet, smart, and handsome little boy. Thank you for all the hugs and kisses that you give me. :)

Conversation:

Joseph: "Mommy, are you skinny?"
Mommy: "What do you think?"
Joseph: "You are getting there because Samuel is out of your belly."
Mommy: "Yep, Samuel is out of my belly."
Joseph: "How do babies get in bellies?"
Mommy: (at a loss on how to explain the concept of sex without using techinical terms and thinking that her son is waaaaay to young for a sex talk pauses and doesn't know what to say) "They grow there." (Not a very good answer at all)
Joseph: "They grow there?!"
Mommy: "I will get back to you on that."

Now comes the research on how to explain to toddlers where babies come from.

"Joe"

In the past few days, Joseph as taken to calling his daddy "Joe." Edward sat down at the table to eat and Joseph said, "That is Joe's spot!" Another time, he asked, "How is Joe?" Tonight he was at the kitchen table and he said, "Where is Joe?" I don't know why he started this trend. I will continue to correct him that it is daddy, but we will see how long he continues to call his daddy "Joe."

Conversation:

Joseph: "I want to sit on your head." (As he tries to scale Joe, climbing and clinging)
Daddy: "Why do you want to sit on me?"
Joseph: "To make you stinky." (Joe starts to laugh a lot...way to encourage him) ;)
Daddy: "How will you make me stinky?"
Joseph: "With my butt." (Joe starts to laugh more)

How cute!

"Solo un pedacito..."

Translation: (Only a little piece). Today I was washing dishes and I looked out the window because a truck pulled up. An older gentleman walked out of the truck. I thought he was going to make an offer on the extra sod we have or to ask about the house. Instead, he started taking pieces of sod that were already cut. I told Joe and he thought it was okay. Well, he started to take from our extra rolls of sod. I told Joe and so I went outside and asked if I could help him. He spoke Spanish and was saying that he only needed little pieces. He didn't mention the fact that he had taken a roll of sod, and I decided not to be confrontational about it.

Well, my brothers and Joe are taking the sod to my parents and I went outside to check on them. Who was back? Our sod taking guest had returned for "mas pedacitos."

After taking sod the first time, he even used our hose to wash his hands. That is pretty audacious! If you look at the pics, you can see the sprinkler system that Joe installed working. I have an amazingly talented and handsome husband!

Sea of "Green"

Thanks to Bryan, Mark, Freddy, Ziggy, Edward, and my handsome hubbie for working hard all evening getting this sod in place. Also, thanks to Rocky Mountain Turf Farm for delivering such nice grass on short notice. :) Part of my thanks to the guys was buying them pizza and drinks. I went to Costco for their pizza and to buy special "diet" foods for Ziggy and Edward. I had Joseph in a cart. I put the cart next to Samuel's door so I could put Samuel next to Joseph in the cart. Our spot was slightly sloped...I didn't realize that when I parked there. So the next thing I know, as I am reaching for Samuel and taking him out of his seat, I hear Joseph yelling, "Mommy, mommy, I am rolling away." I turn around to see him in the cart rolling out into the parking lot driving area. Luckily for me, a lady ran and caught the cart. She brought Joseph and the cart back to me and held it for me while I put Samuel in. Thanks to her as well (and Heavenly Father for protecting my little boy).

Before: Little boy heaven...dirt all around (front yard)
Dirt all around (one small section of the backyard)

After (the front of the house)...hopefully some "green" will come our way soon. :)

The backyard (not quite complete at the time this was taken).

Jospeh loved the new grass and was running around and around with his bare feet. He is so excited to have soft stuff to run around on. We had about 900 extra square feet. We are giving it to my parents so they can use it in the backyard and replace what died in the front yard. I think this will be the 3rd time they will have put sod in the front yard...3rd time is a charm?

So, I have been to a couple of garage sales in the past couple of weeks. I found a bedding set that I have wanted for Joseph and also a castle. This morning we went to one in Orem. There were some Chevron cars in their packages. Joseph went to ask the older woman how much they cost. She looked at him and took them from him and said, "These are collector's items. They are not supposed to be taken out of the package and played with. These are for collectors." I wasn't going to pay "collector's" prices for toys that he can play with and that you can often find at DI for $1. At least he found a couple of dinosaur toys. Last week, some lady was offering the castle owner more money even though she knew I was buying it and saw Joseph playing with it. I had to pay more for it than he originally quoted me, and when she saw me taking it, she said I was mean (I am still a little bitter about it). All in all, garage saling has been an interesting experience.

Bird story continued

Today the bird is gone. Last night as we were getting ready for bed, Joseph commented on the fact that the birds need to stop flying into our windows. He said if they don't learn, that Jesus would need to teach them. Well, Edward picked up the bird and threw it away. Joseph went to look out the window and saw that it was gone. He said, "Jesus came for the bird." It is true in one sense. What a sweet boy.

Samuel, solids, solutions

Well, Samuel is doing lots better with solids since I last posted about it. He does not like carrots, but pears, peaches, prunes, sweet potatoes and bananas are good. Yesterday I took him to the doctor to have his eyes checked because they were awfully red, especially his left eye. The doctor thinks he scratched his eye when he was rubbing it. He is so cute and chubby...a positively perfect little cherubic baby (minus the wings). They weighed him and asked about his eating habits. He was a couple of ounces shy of 20 pounds. He is soooooooo cute (in my opinion).

Joseph is a sweetheart. He has sort of mastered the art of peeing standing up and without help from mommy. He is so proud of himself. We are working on getting him to wash his hands, but even with a step stool, it is a little tall...I need to turn the water on for him. Now we just need to get him to poop on his own and clean himself. We are thinking that we should wait and see if we are moving before enrolling him in a preschool. We had playgroup yesterday and one of the sisters was talking about homeschool. Maybe that is what we will do. I just want him to have fun and learn and be smart.

Tomorrow we should be getting sod! Yay!!! It is drought resistant, green, and made for high traffic (20 cents a square foot, delivered for free, 5600 square feet...ouch and good at the same time). Now it's time for our house to sell. So sell already...now...now...now...

I heard the song "Jeremy's spoken" by Pearl Jam today on the radio. I want my boys to be well adjusted and not teased or bullied. I want them to be happy and good. The song almost had me in tears. Lots of random things like that can make me emotional. I cried during Pet Semetary because the little boy was killed. I felt so bad for Captain Barbosa in Pirates 1 because he didn't get to eat his apple. Yeah. Weird, I know.

Looking for a pre-school

Joseph previewed a preschool yesterday. He really enjoyed it. I am looking at lots of other schools, but I guess I don't know which one we will be able to afford and what to do. I am hoping to find an answer to that question by the end of this week. :)

$2 Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point

Today we went to Thanksgiving Point with our friends Brittney, Bryan, Matthew and Ariana. All this month, Thanksgiving Point is pricing any of there areas for $2, even the dinosaur museum. Well, Brittney invited us and we were so excited to go. Today we went to Farm Country. Joseph was excited because he pet a couple of cows and a horse and pony. We went on a wagon ride. He got to play in a little Western village with Bryan and Matty. They also explored a new area that demonstrates planting to harvesting crops. All in all, it was a great time. We went with Brittney in her car and we had 5 carseats in there. It was a lot of fun and we are hoping to do it again. I will post pictures later of my budding photographer and his skills. :)
Ari is so cute! I loved that she looked so surprise in this picture.

Our little sheriffs after farm country. Joseph was trying to get on his tip-toes to be as tall as Bryan. I thought it was cute. I bought this toy gun for him, but told him if he pointed it anyone or "shot" people, it was going into the trash.

Joseph was fascinated with the little hen house, so he took a picture of this instead of the strange looking hens and rooster.

Joseph and Bryan playing it cool after escaping from the jail.

Joseph's picture of a rabbit in the rabbit hutches. He must have liked this one.

Joseph petting a pony. I tried to get pics of him petting other animals, but it was crowded and he was fast.

Birds vs. windows

It seems that birds have a hard time with our windows. In the past 2 months, we have had 3 birds fly into our windows. We have huge picture windows that look out onto our backyard. We have had one quail fly into it and die as a result. You can hear the big thud when they hit. We had a sparrow fly into it yesterday. First the thud, then you peek out the window and there is the bird twitching. It makes me feel so bad. A different bird has flown and hit Joseph's window and it to has died.

Yesterday, after we heard the thud, we saw the little bird. Joseph went to tell daddy what happened. Here is his explanation, "It hit the window and had its eyes open, then they closed and they won't open anymore." He was so sad. He then said we will never see that bird again. I explained that it went to live with Heavenly Father and that it would be alive there. Later he went to check on the bird and there were ants on it (it grosses me out and I don't want to pick up the dead bird to throw it away...shudder). He said, "Mommy, the ants are trying to tickle the bird and make it alive again." Yeah...that is what was happening. Then he said, "Silly ants, you can't tickle it back alive."

We don't understand why birds seem to have a problem with our windows. Score to date (this season), Birds: 0, Windows: 3.

Butt Scoot Boogie

Samuel does not know how to crawl, even though he moves a lot. I will sit him down with pillows around him and he will slowly bounce and scoot his way closer to anything that is just out of reach. I am afraid that he will wear out the bottoms on all of his clothes. :) Tonight he moved about 3 ft. from the pillows. I will try and post a video later.