My New Skills

Hi everyone. I know it's been awhile, and once again, not a whole lot beyond the normal has been happening. We've been seeing a lot less of Josey with him coaching basketball now. He is the girl's JV coach, and I think he is enjoying it so far. They have just had one game, which they lost, but by a much smaller margin than they did to the same team last year. He thinks they will continue to improve.

I guess the only thing new in my life is that I recently started a workout from my fitness magazine (using weights and a stability ball) that's supposed to "tone me all over" in 15 minutes a day 3 times a week. Yeah right, especially with all of these holiday sweets I've been devouring. But so far I've found myself a little sore and we'll see how it goes.

Every night Jordan asks me if Santa Claus is coming tonight, and I have to tell him "no, not tonight - not until we go to Montana" (I'm so excited!!). He has a few interesting things on his wishlist, including a self-flushing toilet like the one at the store he was fascinated with. I told him I don't think Santa can fit a toilet in his sleigh. I know, it's the same thing every parent tells their child, but I know Santa's not going to be able to bring one this year.

Jarrett's favorite new phrase is "No way Jose" and he repeats this (although sometimes without the "Jose") approximately 500 million times a day. This boy has a major attitude and loves to see what he can get away with. Good thing he's so stinking cute when he says it, though he's been spending much more time in time-out lately (both for this blatantly opposing mommy and daddy when it's something serious we're telling him not to do, and for finally starting to stand up to his brother and whack him when he's being annoying - I can't say I blame him much for this, but you know the rule - no hitting.) Unfortunately, I still don't see too much what the experts see in time-outs, as they seem to have basically no effect. He is still really little though, and it gives him a break to scream in his room with the saddest of cries for a minute and come out with huge tears covering his face, resulting in me smothering him with kisses and feeling a little guilty for torturing him so much. Such is life I guess.

Anyways...about my new skills. I'm so excited about a project I just did yesterday. True, I spent the majority of the afternoon ignoring my kids and coming to understand why Josey wants a new computer chair for Christmas, but it was worth it in the end. I've been wanting to get some pictures of the boys, but they are so difficult! We got family pictures, and managed to have one turn out where both boys weren't leaping off our laps, but we couldn't get one good shot of the boys alone. It is impossible to get Jordan with a natural smile. So yesterday I had my own photo shoot and did some editing, and this is how things turned out. I'm just excited because I actually did something that I'm happy with. Thank goodness for Photoshop.

Before the edit...

After the edit...

Handsome Boy

Just wanted to post Jordan's first ever "school" picture. Isn't he handsome? Looks a lot different from that orphan boy from a few weeks ago, huh? I know it's just because he's my kid, but I think he's so stinkin' cute! I still kiss him all the time, and luckily he still likes it.

Not a whole lot has been happening around here. Last weekend, Josey and I left our kids with my parents and we drove over to Glenrock, WY (5 hour trip) to watch Kemmerer play in the state championship football game. They had gone undefeated all season, but they lost the game 18-0 against a tough (also undefeated) team. So that was a bummer, but it was fun to have just a little break from the kids. It's the first time I've had a night without Jarrett and the boys did great. Jordan did call my mom a "mean grandma", and she got a real kick out of that.

This weekend we get to go to Bozeman, MT to watch Josey's sister Arielle play in her state volleyball tournament. The boys are very excited to see their other grandma and grandpa. A few weeks ago Jordan told me, "we haven't seen our Montana grandma for a very long time" so I decided to push Josey into letting us go watch Arielle play. He started coaching basketball this week, and he's very busy and already starting to feel the stress. He's also working on his master's degree and trying to implement some new things in his teaching, and I think he feels he's being pulled from all directions, so hopefully this will be a little break for him and not just a time when he's worried about everything else. Sometimes I wish I could do more to alleviate his stress, but I'm thankful he loves us so much and does so much for us.

By the way, does everyone else see this little Photobucket icon on my blog? Does anyone know how to get rid of it? And where did my background go? Probably the virus that I downloaded a couple of weeks ago (that Josey is still really mad at me about) has something to do with it.

Happy Halloween!

Here are some pictures of our cute little dinosaurs. A few people thought they were dragons, but they were T-Rex's. A really sweet lady in our ward made the costumes for them. I wish I could say it was me, but I'm not quite so talented. The boys had a great time trick-or-treating, but they were really worn out. As soon as we got home and took off Jarrett's costume, he ran into his room to climb into his crib.

Before trick-or-treating, Josey carved some pumpkins with the boys. As soon as they started cleaning the 'guts' out, Jordan covered his nose and ran into the bathroom and barfed. Gross, I know, but he has a really weak stomach, and the smell of the pumpkins made him sick. So he missed out on a little bit of the fun, but he still loved his daddy's BYU pumpkin. (And wasn't that game on Saturday a little bit too much of an emotional roller coaster? I said some not-so-nice words to Max Hall, and then they turned around and amazingly pulled the win from somewhere.)

What kind of mother...

...actually lets her son go out of the house looking like this? It seems that I used to care a lot more about what my kids looked like when we left the house. When Jordan was a baby, I would always dress him in the cutest outfits, but when Jarrett came along things must have started to go downhill. And ever since Jordan started picking his own outfits, things have apparently gotten way out of control (judging from this picture). But at least he's happy, right? And we were just going to Artic Circle for some ice cream. He fits right in with the Kemmerer crowd that hangs out there, I think. (Notice his socks - one is inside out. And his shoes are on the wrong feet. And his shorts don't match his shirt. And he's got an orange mustache...)

Eights List

My friend Audrey tagged me, and I don't think I've ever been tagged before, so I guess I'll give it a try. (And just for fun, here is a picture of me when I was 8.)

8 TV Shows I like to watch...
(I used to watch TV a lot more than I do now, so it's kind of hard to pick 8)
1. What Not to Wear (I usually watch this when I run on the treadmill)
2. American Idol
3. The Biggest Loser (I haven't watched it yet this season because I keep forgetting it's on)
4. The Price is Right (I occasionally fold laundry to this one)
5. 48 Hours Mystery (This one kind of freaks me out so I haven't watched it in awhile - and this is the reason I gave up watching all other crime shows - CSI, Law & Order, etc. - they were giving me nightmares)
6. BYU Football (Although Josey informed me today that I'm not a very good fan because I don't sit glued to the TV the whole game - I think he forgets we have kids!)
7. Oprah (Maybe once a week she has a show I'm interested in)
8. Rabbi Shmuley (This one's an XM Radio show, but I think it should count)

8 Restaurants I like to eat at...
1. Olive Garden
2. The Brick Oven (Mostly because it's where Josey & I went on our first date)
3. Tucanos
4. Ruby Tuesday
5. Chili's
6. Jacinto's (Or any good Mexican restaurant because I'm not sure Jacinto's exists anymore)
7. Applebees
8. Wendy's (for fast food)

8 Things that happened today...
1. The kids got to eat popcorn for breakfast (I didn't put it away last night & it was the first thing they saw this morning - even better, it was caramel popcorn)
2. I ran 5.25 miles on the treadmill
3. We went to storytime at the library. Jarrett sat on this lady's lap for 10 minutes straight - he has NEVER sat on my lap for that long.
4. Jarrett got his binky at naptime even though I swore I was throwing it away (I decided I'm going to wean him off of it at bedtime first. He didn't even miss it last night.)
5. I vaccuumed my house for the first time in a week. (My vacuum broke last week and I was supposed to get a new one this weekend, but then we didn't go out of town, so finally I had to borrow a friend's because I'm not getting one until Saturday.)
6. I swept the floor numerous times (after breakfast, after playdoh, after lunch...). I'm sick of sweeping!
7. The snow melted a lot.
8. The boys actually ate their dinner, & it included 3 vegetables.

8 Things I am looking forward to...
1. Halloween (Can't wait to see my kids in their costumes & eat their candy)
2. Running outside again
3. Refinishing all of our basement
4. Having another baby (I don't think it will be for awhile, but when the time comes, I think I will be ready)
5. Spending Christmas with Josey's family (I hope everyone can be there)
6. Josey being done with his master's degree (He just started & he's got 3 years)
7. Christmas shopping (as long as I have a little money to spend) & wrapping presents
8. Our Relief Society Super Saturday to be over (Sorry about adding this one, but sometimes putting these things together can be stressful - thank goodness Carolyn has pretty much been doing everything & is doing an awesome job)

8 Things on my wish list...
1. A new car
2. A vacation with Josey...
3. And a trip to Disneyland with the whole family (but Josey has to be excited & happy about it)
4. New clothes (I always love new clothes)
5. Patience
6. A cute haircut
7. Nice skin
8. The wind to stop blowing in Kemmerer (except in the summer when it feels nice to get cooled down a little)

8 People I tag...
Natalie, Megan, Sarah, Christy, Carolyn, Rachel, Panda, & Aimei.
Anybody else that wants to give it a try I would love to see it! This was a lot harder than I thought. I'll be checking to see who does it!

At least we got SOME fun out of it...

Here's Jordan and his daddy with the snowman he's been begging us to help him make since the snow started falling. Glad he's having fun. I just can't wait until next week when all of this melts!

Bummer

Last night it was fun; today, not so fun. I'm talking about our first snowstorm of the season. That gives us three months out of the year with no snow. Last night the boys were excited for the snow and wanted to play in it so they made a few snowballs before their little hands were freezing off and they wanted to come inside.

Today, we were supposed to go visit my parents and spend the night because my brother's new baby is getting blessed tomorrow. The day looked okay starting out, but by the time we were ready to leave it was really windy and snowing. For those of you not from Wyoming, the wind can be very strong and cause a whiteout quickly, even if it's not snowing that hard. I had to take some papers to a friend, who lives just around the corner, and we thought we'd see how bad it was. It was bad. I slid off the road and almost hit a stop sign, and Josey was yelling at me to hit the gas, not the brakes. I am really bad at driving in the snow and the roads were pure ice, so I was really scared. When things were under control, I let him drive us back home. In Kemmerer, it is really hard to get back to our house in a storm because the roads are so steep and our car does not have good traction so we have to go all the way around the town just to find some roads that we won't get stuck on. The boys were bawling because they really wanted to go to grandma's, but we just had to tell them that we'd have to come home and have hot chocolate instead. Luckily, they got over their disappointment quickly. Sometimes the weather is a bummer.

Here is a picture from our front porch last week:

And here is a picture from our front porch today:

Life's Little Moments

This week a few things have happened that have made me smile. They've made me stop and reflect on how blessed I am. I don't always take the time to think about all the cute things my kids do when I'm frustrated with some of their naughtiness and whininess, but I wanted to share a few of the cute things that I got to experience this week that made me laugh and appreciate my sweet family.

About a week ago at the dinner table, Josey & I were talking about baptism for some reason. Jordan asked what being baptized meant. Josey told him that someone says a prayer and then you put the person in the water. I can't remember what else he told him, but that is about all that Jordan got out of it. A couple days later, I was watching Jordan & Jarrett play and all of a sudden I see Jordan on his knees saying a prayer (his baptismal prayer went something like this: "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this dinner...") and then he started pushing Jarrett down and telling him he was getting baptized. I was actually a little worried for when they went in the bathtub, and sure enough, Jordan tried baptizing Jarrett in real water. When I told him not to, he started baptizing his toy dinosaurs. Since then, the baptisms have stopped because Josey told him that only people who have the priesthood can baptize and Jordan doesn't have the priesthood. He seemed to accept that explanation.

Another thing that made me laugh is one of the exchanges between Jordan & Jarrett. Jordan was bossing Jarrett around telling him to do something and Jarrett keep asking "why?" Jordan kept answering "because." It was funny because it went on for awhile and Jordan was getting pretty frustrated. A good dose of his own medicine!

My boys say & do funny things all the time that make me wonder where they got so smart (you're right - probably from their mom) and learned these things. But yesterday my favorite moment was taking a nap with Jordan. He's given up his naps, but yesterday I really wanted one so I laid with him on his bed & read some stories and then we both took a nap. I guess it was so sweet because those days have already passed that I used to nap with him, and it was just a nice little part of my day, not to mention that we got a 1 1/2 hour nap. I always love that.

I'm so lucky that I get to experience so many things with my boys every day. Yesterday I was complaining a little to Josey that my days seem to be full of making food & cleaning up, over and over again. He started singing me the song "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins. He's right and I know it. I need look for the many happy positive moments that happen every day, even on the worst days. This helps me so much to be grateful for all that I have. Even right now as Jarrett is whacking me with a hanger, I can't help but think how cute he is doing it. Now I better give him some attention because I think that's what he wants.

It's Been Awhile...

It's been a long time since I've made an entry, and I'm not sure why because I think about it a lot. Sometimes it just seems like a little too much effort to sit here and type out my thoughts while Jordan keeps asking, "Mommy, are you done with your blog?" There hasn't been a whole lot going on, but the month has flown by. Jordan started preschool at the beginning of September. He loves it and comes home exhausted on the days he goes. He has a little buddy that he goes with and there are 10 kids in his class. Most days I can't get too much out of him about what they did, except for a few sketchy details here and there. I can't believe he's growing up so fast. I can't believe he can actually sit still for longer periods of time now! (In fact, the last three weeks we've made it through the whole sacrament meeting with both boys.)



A couple of weeks ago, Josey and I took our big date excursion of the year and went down to the BYU-Wyoming football game. We took some pictures, but I haven't been able to upload them so just imagine a slaughtering of 44-0 and us having a lot of fun. It was great to be able to go back to the BYU campus just to see how it's changed. I loved that place. I didn't love Provo necessarily, and I wouldn't like to live there, but while I was going to school, it was the perfect place and I'm glad I got the chance to be there. No, I don't think BYU is the most righteous university ever (or all those other things that sometimes non-BYU fans think BYU people think); it was just the perfect place for me and I spent a very happy 4 1/2 years there. We left our boys with a sweet lady in our ward who watched them all day. They love being with her because she is so great with kids and we all had a great day.

Since then, we've just been enjoying this lovely fall weather. I cannot believe how beautiful it's been, and I know I've got to enjoy it while I can. There hasn't even been any wind for the past 3 days! I took my boys out in the stroller yesterday and today for runs because I knew I had to take advantage of the weather. (I usually prefer running by myself because it's my time, and easier to run without the stroller, but I'm a morning person and didn't want to wait until Josey was home to see if things would work out that I could go running.) Anyways, yesterday as we were running, Jarrett fell asleep and Jordan was looking at all the pretty trees changing colors, and the river, and the mountains, and telling me that Jesus made all of these things because he loves us. What a sweet boy to remind me of these things. I'm glad we were able to take some time to enjoy some of the beauty God has blessed us with, even in Kemmerer! I have to admit that I don't always listen to the things that Jordan is saying because I usually bring my headphones and sometimes turn them on and just run. After yesterday's sweet moment, I shut the headphones off for a minute today when I heard Jordan jabbering away and I asked him what he was saying and he said, "I'm just talking to myself." I thought that was pretty funny -that a little 3-year old has to talk to himself so his mommy can have some time to think and kind of escape into her own world for a little bit - but glad that he's willing to do it and be happy about it. I love my boys - they bring me so much joy that I never could have imagined before they came into my life. How can you look at this sweet face and resist giving it a big kiss? (Never mind the fact that it's covered in dirt, but haven't you noticed this recurring them in all my pictures of Jarrett? - the boy LOVES dirt!)



And one other thing...I started taking a dance class. It's really hilarious. This lady in my ward teaches dance and a couple of people approached her about having an adult class. I do her accounting, so in exchange I decided to try out her class. We are learning hip-hop and jazz. I really stink at it. I have absolutely no rhythm, and I'm not sure I'll ever get it, but it's worth it just to go laugh for an hour at us old ladies trying to dance. I'll let you know how things turn out.

Confession

So I have a confession to make. I'm not sure why I'm sharing this on my blog, other than I don't really have anything else to post about right now. Here it is: today I was a very bad mom. The day started off okay, other than the fact that both boys woke up at 6:00 a.m., and I usually hope for 7:00. Since they woke up so early, I decided to take them on a run in the stroller. My energy was good at this point and we went about 6 miles. It was after this that things started going downhill fast. When we got home, my energy was sapped. So by noon I had finally managed to take a shower and get ready, and I thought I was feeling better. We had lunch, and then Jarrett went down for his nap at around 12:30. By this time, I felt completely drained again. I told Jordan I really needed a "power nap", so I would like it if he let mommy sleep for a little bit while he watched Sesame Street. Yes, I know this is bad, but really, I was totally exhausted. Jordan often begs me to watch TV, but he never really just sits and watches it. He has to be doing headstands on the couch or running around the house doing something at the same time. So as I was lying on my bed, I could hear the pitter-patter of his little feet running to and fro getting into stuff here and there, but I didn't hear anything disastrous. And nothing bad ended up happening. When I finally woke up (yes, I'll admit it...2 hours later!) he was sitting on the floor coloring with markers that he had gotten off the top of the fridge. At least he was doing something creative and productive with his free time, right? He also informed me that he had gotten himself some chips, but that he "didn't eat all of them, quite." He is pretty self-sufficient, don't you think? So after feeling guilty about this for a little bit, I took both boys to the park down by the river this afternoon where we threw rocks in the water, played in the sandbox, and went on the swings and slide. So, maybe I'm not such a bad mom after all, and I feel a lot better after having gotten some rest.

Memories

A lot of my friends and family have been doing this - so I thought I would too!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! Since this is our family blog, feel free to leave a memory about any of the four of us.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. :)

Go Cougars!

Well, the time has finally come for one of my favorite times of the year - football season. Don't ask me why this always gets me excited. I've always just loved this time of year and watching football. Even though I've watched it practically my whole life, I still have basically no clue as to all of the rules and calls. I'm not sure why I still can't get it, but I get the most important stuff I guess.




We got to watch BYU's first game of the season today (we got Directv installed just in time), and even though there were some tense moments (and me & Jordan decided to leave the house to give Josey some space), they managed to pull it out in the end. They just had some really dumb plays. I love BYU football, mostly because I love BYU and when Josey & I were dating and married without kids almost all of our dates were attending BYU sporting events. I love remembering those times. This year we get to go to the BYU-Wyoming game and leave our kids with a baby-sitter and I'm really excited! If it's our only real date of the year it will be worth it. Anyways, just wanted to let everyone know I'm excited for the football season, and I hope BYU can do good this year. Go Cougars!!

That's a little too high...

...for a 3-year old to be climbing, don't you think? (Look closely to see Jordan's head) I was sitting on the front porch watching Jarrett play and Jordan was climbing the tree. The next thing I knew he was almost to the top! He got stuck and couldn't figure out how to come back down, but luckily Josey got home right in time to rescue him. He told us he wanted to climb so high so he "could pick a cloud and eat it." What a silly boy, but I'm glad he's okay and not one bit deterred from climbing.

My First Half Marathon (and other stuff)

Yesterday I ran in the Top of Utah half marathon. It was really fun, and I'm happy with how I did. For those of you who aren't runners, you may wonder how running 13.1 miles can be fun, but I can't explain it so you'll just have to get off your couch and start running! It was just fun to take part in an event with a lot of other people who enjoy doing what I do. My goal was to finish the race in 1:45 and my official time was 1:42:49, putting me 19th out of 243 runners in my age/gender category (154 out of 1315 overall). I felt great during and after the race, although my quads are a little sore today. I felt that I could have run faster if I had gotten a better start in the first couple of miles, but with so many people, and this being my first race, I was having a hard time pushing through all the people and getting on my pace. I hope to run more half marathons in the future, but I don't really plan on running a marathon, not because I don't think I could do it, but because I don't want to put that kind of time commitment into my training and I want to be a little easier on my body. Maybe I will change my mind in the future, but I don't know.

I'm amazed that I've come this far in only a year. When Jarrett was about 5 months old, my sweet in-laws gave me a double jogging stroller for my birthday. I immediately put it to use, mostly walking around town, which is a pretty good workout considering the hills here. When I decided to actually start running, I could only go about 1/4 mile before I had to stop and walk. I just kept at it until I was eventually able to run the entire 2.5 mile trail. When winter came, it was harder to find time to run, but I started going to the rec center and running on the track or treadmill. Eventually I just came to really love running. Part of it was the fact that this was my time during the day when I could do something for myself. Part of it was how I started to feel - healthier and happier. I encourage anyone who isn't taking the time to exercise to find some time, any time. It is worth it and you will feel better! I just really hope that I can keep this habit as my life continues to change and get busier.

And some other stuff...

Here is a picture of of our newly stained porch. This is mainly for my mother-in-law who helped us out a lot during the week we were doing all the work. She wanted to see the finished product. I think it looks really good. Before it was a dark red color that was all worn off and didn't look great with the house.

And here's a picture of my boys who were looking especially cute for church this morning. It is impossible to get a picture of both of them smiling and looking normal, but I'll settle for this one. They sure look sweet, don't they? Well, isn't it sweet when your 3 1/2 year old blurts out in the middle of sacrament meeting "Daddy, did you fart?" in a really loud voice (this boy refuses to whisper in church.) When daddy said no and I starting laughing and telling him to be quiet he blurts out "Mommy, did you?" (For the record, no I did not.) Needless to say, I found it quite funny, though embarrassing, and we had a little talk about it after church.

Done camping for now...Yay!!

I know that I've been needing to update my blog with our many adventures, but a lot of times I sit down at the computer and then get busy (sidetracked) looking at everybody else's blogs. Well, today (for the past 3 hours!) I've been enjoying a very peaceful Sunday afternoon because I've had two sleeping boys and a sleeping husband, so I feel rejuvenated and ready to update my blog for those of you who have been anxiously waiting (okay, I know my blog might be a little boring sometimes, but it's good for me to get these things written somewhere before I forget them.)

Where to begin? Josey finished remodeling the bedroom in our basement. He worked so hard on it and learned a lot about home improvement so now I think he's ready for any project I put him up to. The only thing we have left to do is order carpet. The second he finished the bedroom, he started working on the front porch/deck, which needed sanding and restaining. This has turned into quite a big project, and we're not quite finished. Luckily, Jan was here for a few days last week while Arielle was at VB camp at BYU, and she helped us out quite a bit. When it is finished, I think it will look great.

Last weekend, we went to the Squires Family Reunion in Polaris, Montana. This is Josey's grandma's family, and it is always a fun reunion with lots of people. We went to Bannack, a ghost town that was the first capital of Montana. We camped in a pretty campground (and luckily Lyle & Jan camped next to us with their trailer so it wasn't quite roughing it in the wilderness.) Josey & Jesse took Jordan digging for crystals. It was a nice weekend to relax and have fun with family, although Jarrett did get sick with croup and by the last day he was really miserable. The poor little guy sat in his carseat on the way home for 7 hours without ever getting out or crying. He slept for about 3 hours and then just had this miserable sad look on his face for the rest of the way. I was happy to be back home.

Jordan & Jarrett climbing the rocks in our campground
The boys throwing rocks with grandpa

Jordan in timeout in Bannack

Our family in Bannack

Jesse, Jordan, & Josey with the crystals they dug
I should mention that to prepare for this camping expedition, Josey made us set up the tent in our backyard for 2 nights before we left so the boys would be prepared for the camping experience. His plan worked somewhat (Jarrett progressed from waking up at 5:30 to 7:00), although during the second night of backyard camping we had this huge thunderstorm and I was scared (I tried to make it seem like Jordan was the one who was scared) so we finally went inside around 3:00 a.m. Needless to say, these 2 nights of camp preparation wore me out and next time I think I'll let Josey prepare the boys on his own.

Jordan has also been taking swimming lessons for the past 2 weeks. He's done great and he's loved it (some of the kids in the class NEVER stopped bawling the entire time). I've always wished I would have learned to swim because I still don't know how. I can stay above water, but I don't actually know how to swim properly, like if I wanted to go swim for exercise. Maybe I could still learn. Anyways, here are some pics of him learning to swim.

Dirt is FUN!!

Our boys have been having a great time playing in (and eating) a lot of dirt this week. I find it kind of interesting that Josey got so upset with the boys for playing in the lotion (see previous post), but when Jarrett was apparently eating dirt and I asked Josey if he had been watching them he said, "don't accuse me of not watching them." Umm, okay. (Because you know I wasn't accusing him; I should rephrase what I said for clarification: I sweetly asked him if he had been watching them.) So anyways, dirt (probably tainted with lead and thousands of other toxic chemicals) is okay, but lotion is not.

Josey had to be the priesthood leader for a night at girl's camp this week, so we decided to take the boys and make it a family affair (a little test run before our family reunion camping trip this week). The boys had a great time, although I'm still trying to catch up on the lost sleep. When we got home, they played in the dirt a little more before bathtime. They were disgusting, especially Jarrett. His little towhead was caked in dirt (I think Jordan must have been having a fun time dumping it on his head.) I tried to get some pictures to show how gross it was. When I went to wash it, his head was turned into a big glob of mud. But at least they had fun, right?

I Did It!

Last week I ran in the Kemmerer Fossil Fest 5K (3.1 miles) run. Now, this is not a big race, and there was not that much competition. Consequently, I won!! I run a lot, but I'm not really fast (and I'm not really training to be fast) so I was surprised but happy that I was able to beat all of the other women in Kemmerer. (I got 3rd place overall, but was the 1st female.) My time was 21:30, which I know wouldn't have even come close to winning in a 5K with more competition, but it was only my first race where I was actually trying so I was happy. I also got a $20 gas gift card so it was worth it (even if that only fills up less than half a tank now), and I could hardly breathe for a few hours afterwards because that's the fastest I've ever run. Here's a cheesy picture of me with my medal, and a pic of me with my two silly boys who were waiting at the finish line for me & gave me big hugs. (No, that's not a real gun that Jordan has.)


And in other happenings...Jordan and Jarrett got ahold of the lotion bottle and had a little fun giving Jarrett a lotion bath & shampoo. At least he smelled nice afterward. They both got a spanking from daddy (who I thought was watching them until I heard a loud scream from upstairs.) The spanking didn't faze them for one second - we're having some discipline issues - and I probably shouldn't even mention spanking on my blog (I wouldn't have given them a spanking if I was the one who caught them). Anyways, I couldn't help but take a few pictures. (I tried to get Jordan to make a sad face for being a naughty boy, but this is the best he could do.)

What I Love About My Boys

Josey has been home for about a week and a half now and it seems like he's been busy every minute working on our yard or home improvement projects. I'm glad he's finding plenty to do to stay busy, but we've also had some fun too. We got to go to Utah for his cousin Luke's wedding on the 4th of July. It was beautiful and fun to see so many of Josey's relatives. We also took the boys to Bear Lake and they had a wonderful time. I love summer!

I just wanted to share a few things that I love about each of my boys:

Jarrett

Jarrett has always been such a good baby. He has his bad days (almost exclusively when he's teething), but overall he's just a sweetheart. He loves to make people laugh, and it is pretty easy to make him laugh. He loves to copy everything his brother does, even when his brother has continually pushed him down and bashed him into the wall a dozen times (he's very forgiving). I love how when he's sitting on my lap he doesn't want Jordan invading his space. He wants me all to himself. I love walking into his room after a nap and hearing him say "hi." I LOVE it when he cuddles with me. This usually lasts about 2 seconds, but occasionally for up to 5. (I thought when he was born that he was going to be my cuddly baby, but I was wrong.) I love how he finds so much joy in everything, just because he's a kid. I also love that he's so stinkin' CUTE!! I can't help but kiss his little face about a million times a day (probably one of the reasons he doesn't like cuddling with me, because I smother him.)

Jordan

Jordan is my little buddy. Each day is a new experience with a 3 1/2 year old. He's so smart (at least I think so because I'm his mom.) He has an amazing memory. He is a very active little boy. I like going on walks with him because he wants to run up the steepest hills in Kemmerer and then run down them in his flip-flops, biff it (he doesn't like to biff it, but he does), and he doesn't even cry as long as you pretend you didn't see it. Even when he tells me I'm a "mean old mommy" I can't help but smile. I think it's kind of cute (but I don't love) how he's very adamant about what he wants to wear. Almost every day he wants to wear his running shorts or a dinosaur shirt (notice the pictures). But usually his pteradactyl shirt just isn't good enough (of course, because it's actually kind of cute); it has to be his T-rex shirt. He'll get a shirt and put it on and then bring shorts out to me and ask "is this fine?" Usually I say no, but if we're not going anywhere I let him wear it anyway. I can't believe a 3 1/2 year old boy cares this much about clothes. I can get him to sit with me for as long as I want as long as I'm reading him books, but this is the only time I can get him to sit still. He loves to tease his little brother, but he also loves Jarrett and tries to make him happy when he's sad. Almost every day, one of the first questions he asks me is "where are we going today?" On most days the answer is "nowhere" but even a trip to the bank is very exciting for him. It makes me a little sad that he's growing up so fast, but I'm glad that he's a happy little boy and he still loves to give me hugs and kisses.

Josey

I love being married to my best friend. He understands me and knows me better than anyone else. He's very forgiving and understanding. He lets me do so much, whatever will make me happy. He supports me in the things that I do. He works hard to support our family so I can stay home with our sweet sons. He's really smart, and loves to learn. He loves our boys and he loves playing with them, teasing (tormenting) them, and making them laugh. He doesn't make me feel guilty (usually) about doing things and leaving him with the boys. He's willing to talk when I want to talk, and he's a good listener. He tries hard to be a good husband, father, and priesthood holder. I just love being with him, no matter what we are doing. I love it when he laughs because it always makes me laugh. He's my sweetheart, and he's handsome, and I could go on and on...

A Trip to the Farm

Since Josey is still in Mississippi, we decided to come up to Montana and visit his family without him. We've been having a great time, mostly just relaxing and enjoying the great weather. We've been to the auction, to Russ & Wendy's ranch, swimming, and sadly, I didn't get many pics until today. Today we took a trip out to a farm of one of the ladies that works at the auction. Jordan and Jarrett got to ride a pony, see and hold some baby ducks, and play with some sheep. They had a great time, especially Jarrett, my little animal lover! (There are a lot of pictures, but I figured their daddy would like to see what they are up to.)