Crazy Weather

We've had some pretty crazy weather lately.

 Even Ruger can't believe his eyes.

Olivia's First Day of School

Olivia started preschool today!

She was so excited. She asked me every day for 2 weeks if today was the day. It finally came...isn't that the cutest face you've ever seen?

I wasn't expecting to have her start school with one hand, but she made it work. Here she is finding her cubbie and hanging up her backpack.

Once she started playing with the toys, she told me I could go home. I didn't know what to do with myself...my baby girl didn't need me any more. She's growing up so fast. I'm so proud of her!!

Landon's Letter - August 23

August 23, 2010

Like last week, again my weekend was crazy! On Friday I came home, took my shoes of and watched TV for an hour, and I played with my grandma and grandpa. Then I ate dinner and I went to bed.

The next day my dad took my two sisters and me to Smash Burger. But I think every single person in Draper was there. Then we went out for frozen yogurt. The frozen yogurt place was so amazing. You could literally pour in your own flavor of frozen yogurt and put as many toppings as you want on top. When your yogurt is done, they weigh it. It is only $0.35 per ounce. After we ate our frozen yogurt we went to what dad called, “a special surprise.” When we got there I found out it was a place called “Incredible Pizza.” It was better than Boondocks or Gasoline Alley combined. There was a bowling alley, race car track, an arcade, and a buffet. At the arcade I won four hundred tickets. I went to the ticket prizes, and I got a blowgun, a punching balloon, and a lot of candy.

My Uncle Jason and his son (my cousin) came to stay with us from St. George, and in the morning my mom and sister went with them to church, so my dad asked me if I wanted to go to the movies. He ended up taking me to the Apple store. I felt bad that I didn’t go to the movies, but the apple store had the new iPads in so I was much happier. The experience was much cooler than the iPhone because the screen was about ten inches wide. I played on so many cool applications. Three minutes later my dad told me we were going home. I went home to find out my cousin and my uncle had to leave. I said goodbye and then I ate dinner with my family. While we were eating, I thought I saw a tarantula. My parents didn’t believe me, so I showed them. They got up close, and believe me or not, it was a tarantula! We took pictures, instead of killing it. The tarantula went under the fence, so we came back inside. None of us had the appetite to eat, so we went to bed. I woke up, went to school and here we are now.

Landon's Letter-August 16th

August 16, 2010

My first day of the weekend just hit a new high! I went to Boondocks and played many, many video games! Sadly, for me my two baby sisters had to come and ruin my happiness. My sister, Emma was okay, but my other sister, Olivia stood up on the chairs while we were eating, fell down and broke her collarbone. Not to be rude but it was kind of funny. Her legs went in the air! The weirdest part was she didn’t cry immediately. She cried for about 11 seconds. We had to leave shortly afterwards.

My second day of the weekend just hit a new low. I went up to East Canyon at my grandma and grandpa’s motor home. We went to a fun park and played on its old ladders and swings. Later, we went swimming, but I had no clue that after I was done, I would be regretting that day for a very long time! Before I can tell you that story I need to tell you this story. I went swimming up at East Canyon with my sister my grandma and one cousin. I had a fun time in the pool for about two hours, but then I felt my swimsuit pocket and I realized something terrible. I reached in, scared to death, and what I found made me half-faint. I got the feeling that made me want to run away and never come back. I had to be honest and tell my grandma what had happened. She told me, my sister, and my cousin to pack up and go back to the motor home.

I was too afraid to tell my mom what had happened, so my sister spoke up and she told. I plugged my ears and waited my mom to yell but she was silent; silent as the night in an abandoned area. She was so mad she couldn’t speak. I may have forgotten to tell you what was in my pocket. It was my new iPod Touch and my new cell phone.

On My third day of the weekend I went to the same park as on Saturday. An hour or so later we played mini golf. Personally I kept count on everyone’s score. I did the best. On 75% on all of the holes mine were birdies. Afterwards, everyone but my sister wanted to play shuffleboard. But only one disagreement ended in no shuffleboard. For the final activity in East Canyon we played ladder golf. I beat four people at the game, so I was the ladder golf champion. I said goodbye to my cousin, grandma and grandpa and I headed back home.

Friday the 13th

My son woke up yesterday, Friday the 13th, and said, "I wonder if something bad is going to happen today?"

The day wasn't bad at all, although Emma said it was the worst ever, because she had a substitute. Oh, the problems of a 7-year old.

Jeremy had to catch a flight that night, so he wanted to spend some time with the kids. We almost had Livi stay home with me because Landon and Emma wanted to have 'alone time' with Dad. Now I wish she had stayed home with me!

Jeremy took the kids to dinner and then to Boondocks. When they came home Livi was crying and complaining that her shoulder hurt. Livi is an easy book to read. She does not cry out of pain (now a tantrum is a different story), unless she is seriously injured. I asked her what happened and this is what she said, "I was crazy dancing on a bench. I had so much fun. Then I fell down on my shoulder. It hurts really bad. I love you mommy."

I sent Jeremy to the airport and the kids to bed. I figured Livi could just sleep on it and if it still hurt, we would figure it out in the morning. Well morning came and we were planning on going to East Canyon with my brother and sister in-law, however, Livi was still in a lot of pain. We went to the hospital and Livi was so brave. She didn't cry at all, which actually made the doctor think she wasn't that seriously hurt. I convinced them otherwise, and they agreed to an x-ray.

Yup...fractured her collarbone.

I decided to head up to East Canyon since the condo was already paid for. I also thought it would be a welcome distraction for her, and maybe she wouldn't fuss too much over the sling. We picked up my nephew since my brother couldn't drive up until later that night. We drove up and had a great time catching up with Grandma and Grandpa. She didn't complain at all and had such a ball playing in the motor home and park. She just had to do everything one-handed.

We decided to go swimming and just let Livi kick her feet, since that's all she likes to do anyway. I didn't get any pictures of the swimming because I was distracted trying to keep her from falling in. I did get one picture though...

Landon just got a new iPod and cell phone last month. He decided to stuff them both in his swimsuit pockets. Why? I will never understand. He certainly didn't tell me he was taking them, I just found out after he had already been swimming for 2 hours. We stuck them both in rice, which is supposed to help draw the moisture out of the devices. We'll see if it helps at all. I doubt it.

So anyway, our plan was to stay in the condo after Gary and Cristi got there. We went to the front office to check in and they apparently marked the wrong dates on our reservation. So turns out we didn't have a place to stay after all. Sweet.

The kids were so devastated when they found out we wouldn't be able to stay the night, so my parents graciously offered to take them overnight. I was so angry with Landon, so it was probably best that he stayed there. We didn't let anything spoil our fun and still had a great time at the park, playing mini-golf and ladder ball. Once it got dark, Livi and I went home to sleep and came back in the morning.

So in short, I think Friday the 13th isn't such a bad day, but Saturday the 14th can totally suck it.

Little Gym

Both Landon and Emma were involved in 'The Little Gym'. I love the Owners and Staff, and have always been impressed with the program offered there. I decided to see if Olivia was interested in taking classes there. They have a free trial class that I put Livi in to see if she liked it. She did a great job and absolutely loved gymnastics! Here are some pictures of her enjoying the class....

Unfortunately, only one day after taking these classes, Olivia broke her Collar Bone. So, we are looking forward to the day when she can resume taking these classes. She absolutely loved them!

Landon's Letter - August 2nd

August 2, 2010

My weekend was really fun. I practically woke up and went to Lifetime Fitness to go swimming. I just waited in the water for the lifeguard to turn on the waterslides. I had so much fun on the waterslides, until I got a bad cut. My choices were, to keep swimming or have a bandage and not swim. I made a good choice.

Rather than swimming, I drank a slushie and got a tan in the hot sun. Afterwards, we made sugar-cookies. I made mine the smallest cookie dough shape you’ve ever seen, but unexpectedly, the oven made my mini creation as big as a regular cookie. My sister made a regular creation, and the oven made hers the biggest cookie you have ever seen! Luckily for me, it broke into smaller pieces. I used most of the frosting on my cookie, while my sister used all of the sprinkles. Before I knew it, it was time for school. I have so much fun at Mrs. Lloyd’s classroom. I’ve learned so much in one week more than I have in the entire third grade.

My New Blog Contributer

I'm so behind on blogging. I blog because I like to have a journal of my events, but the irony is, those events keep me so busy, I can't blog about them. I WILL catch up though...

So meanwhile, until I find the time, I've decided to let Landon take over. He is required to type a letter to his teacher each week talking about events from the previous week. The spelling, grammar, and formatting isn't graded, it's just for him to improve his typing skills. It's my favorite thing to read because it's always so funny what he chooses to talk about. We have something as significant as a wild fire, and he talks about his sister sleepwalking. I love hearing his perspective, and maybe you will too. If anything, it will keep this thing updated since all I have to do is cut and paste :)

I've posted all of his letters since August in the following posts. I just love that kid!

The Paranoid Mother

Monday was the first day at the new school. In our old school, the kids were literally chaperoned back and forth to the car, and everywhere within the school. As a paranoid Mom, I loved the security it gave me, but in retrospect, I see that it actually hindered their independence and decision making abilities. They were very apprehensive about getting to their classes on their own, and so we showed up early, and walked around the school to get familiar with it. Both kids were extremely nervous and I was doing my best not to project my own nervousness onto them. I'm pretty sure I failed. I showed them where to meet at the end of the day, and Emma said she was scared she would get lost. I comforted her, gave her my best smile, and left. As soon as I got out of the doors, I had a mini-panic attack. I drove straight to the AT&T store and bought them each a cell phone. My kids have been begging for phones forever and I SWORE I wouldn't give in until they were teenagers, but this wasn't for them; it was for me.  At 3:30 I parked where we agreed, and out came Landon. He was so excited to tell me all about his day. It was a great day, he loved his teacher, and he loved his new friends. We sat and talked for a few minutes, and I started to have buyer's remorse. Looks like the kids are going to be just fine. I decided not to mention the phones. I realized it had been about ten minutes and Emma still wasn't there. I figured she was probably talking to her teacher. Oh wait, her teacher just drove off. I sent Landon in to find her, but he came out empty handed. My panic set back in and boy was I wishing she had A CELL PHONE!!! Finally after another five minutes, she came out crying. She was totally lost and couldn't find any teachers or anyone to help her. She got in the car and I told her I had something that would make her feel better, and she would never be helpless again. I'm pretty sure this response says it all...

The First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. The kids have always worn uniforms, so it was fun for them to be able to pick out whatever they wanted wear today. I can't believe how grown up they look. Emma is starting 2nd grade and Landon is in the 4th grade. I'm so proud of them!

 

Cecret Lake

We took a nice hike to Cecret Lake. It was such a beautiful hike!

After the hike we had a yummy brunch at the Alta Lodge.

July 24th Celebration

The night of the 24th, we set off fireworks with our neighbors. This was Landon's first year that we let him light the fireworks himself, which was so nice to be able to just sit and watch the kids have fun (except for Olivia, she was asleep).

The Day of Needles

We found out Landon was allergic to dogs when he was about four years old, and suspected he was allergic to cats, grass, and certain trees. We decided to finally get him tested to see specifically what he was allergic to. He had to endure 14 pokes on his and it turns out he's allergic to basically everything. Definitely cats and dogs, but surprisingly horses. He was also severely allergic to grass.

He didn't complain at all about the pain, but wasn't exactly happy about it...

While we were already in the Dr. Office, we decided to have him look at some growths on Emma's chin.

She was having a good time entertaining us while waiting for the doctor. Once he came and told her he needed to use a needle on her chin, her smiles turned to tears. She is definitely afraid of needles!

After spending the day at the doctor, Olivia was obsessed with the whole process. I think she examined me at least ten times that night.

SQUIRREL!!!!

After watching the show "UP" I understand my dog a lot better...

Never More

Since about April, we've had birds making nests in every available crevice in our house. The worst has been the nest in the dryer vent, since it not only hindered my ability to dry my clothes, but also presented quite the fire hazard. There was so much hay in the vent, about five feet down. My neighbor told me about a fancy apparatus that he concocted to clean out his vent-a wire hanger.

So, I got a ladder with my fancy hanger tool and got out all of the hay. I can't believe how much there was!

 

The next stop was the rain gutters. It was a bit scary to get on top of a four-story roof, but I needed to clear whatever the birds had made there, since it was stopping the rain from draining. Landon decided he would take pictures just in case I fell, so he could submit it to America's Funniest Videos. I didn't tell him that if I fell, he would be more than likely be submitting the pictures to our Insurance Company instead.

After carefully scooting to the edge of the roof, I finally found out what the birds had made...

 Awe...widdle baby birds! So cute.

I felt bad that I took down the nest and considered helping to hatch these little fellas.

Instead I threw them in the garbage.

Yep, I'm a horrible person.

Stupid birds.

Mom vs. Child

I had only one month to potty train Olivia or she couldn't go to preschool. I have been trying for over six months, but she SCREAMS every time I put her on the potty. I bought a cute little princess potty that sings so she'd be less frightened.

Yeah, didn't make a difference.

She had no interest.

I decided the best way was to do a Potty Boot Camp. I told the kids we weren't going anywhere for an entire day and they would basically have to take care of themselves. Olivia was going to sit on the toilet all day until she peed.

Seriously, we sat like this for over six hours. I had the kids continue to bring me a Diet Coke and Olivia a sippy cup. After about five hours, she had to go SO bad, but still refused. She sat there for a full hour trying to get up every few seconds, and I literally held her down. I know it sounds severe, but I tried the 'Reward System' (bribes), 'Positive Reinforcement' and every trick out there for over six months. Olivia is one of a kind. She is very stubborn and the only way to get her to do something is to over-power her and beat her at her game (note to child services, I didn't say beat her). I knew that once she successfully went in the potty, she could see that it wasn't scary and we will have made a break-through. We just had to get her to go ONE TIME.

Finally after an hour of screaming (I have video, but it's inappropriate for public viewing, however I fully intend on using it as leverage when she's a teenager), she FINALLY went pee! She went from scared to being excited. I told her that when she went potty just one time, she would get a Dora Guitar. I let her off the potty, got her dressed, and gave her the reward.

 

I didn't want her to wear Pull-Ups, so we had to stay home for about a week to ensure we didn't have any accidents. She still cried every time I put her on there, but still went potty. It took about a week to finally stop crying each time.

It was one of the longest weeks of my life, but I am really proud of my little stubborn princess.