Spiderman

A few days ago, Justice informed me that he had been bitten by a spider, and so would be turning into Spiderman. He also told me that Mark had been bitten by a monkey, and Clayton by an elephant. They too would be transforming into Monkeyman and an elephant respectively.

Today as we were coming home from our walk, Justice sighed really deep and said dejectedly, "It's really taking a long time for me to turn into Spiderman."

On another note, Clayton's vocabulary is really coming around these days. We were having a little campfire and roasting hot-dogs and marshmallows a couple of nights ago. Clayton was playing with a flashlight and kept getting mad at Justice for sticking his hand in Clayton's beam. Finally Clayton shouts out, "Touch a hand a DIE!" I think anyone could understand that funny two year old language.

Today Clayton was playing "potty training" (as in copying what I do with our new puppy) with his toy dinosaur. He kept sticking the dino's nose on the ground and saying "See dat, NO! No poop a house! NO! See dat, NO! SIDE!" then he'd give his dinosaur a spanking. It was pretty hilarious.

Pic of the Day

Justice and Clayton's new favorite game is to swing from leashes that they hang from hooks in the basement ceiling.

On a side note, it is not an unusual thing for me to find Justice hanging upside down from that 'I' beam in the basement, without the aid of a rope. On those occasions, however I do not generally run for the camera, but tell him to get down now, in fear of his eminent demise.

I've Got to Learn to Slow Down

I've been avoiding the blogs lately. The computer eats up too much of my time. There are just WAY too many things that I'm supposed to be doing, and it's stressing me out lately. I don't know what the answer is, but I feel guilty most of the time, which is stupid. No matter what I do, there are 100 things that I didn't get done. I kind of feel like my "to do" list is ruling me right now, and I don't like it. I don't have time for anything that I actually want to do, and I feel like I've totally forgotten how to play. Where is the balance? My kids need to see me as someone who loves them and takes time for them, not as a mean ogress obsessed by getting things done.

Completely worn out the other day, (on one of my 4:30 a.m. running days) I took Bruce's advice and took a nap while J & C were taking theirs. I wasn't going to make it one more step anyhow. I was so tired, I actually dreamed about sleeping. I dreamed I was driving along and was so tired that I stopped at our old house, went inside and took a nap. When I woke up (in my dream) the new owner of the house came home and flipped out because I was in her house. I tried to explain that I just wanted a nap, and that I thought it would be okay because I used to live there, but she called the cops on me. I woke up (for real) in a panic because the cops were chasing me down the street.

Anyway, I'll shut my complaining up now. Hopefully next time I'll have found my fun side again. Right now, I'm going to spend some time with my piano.

Ugh!

Between the new puppy, and a two year old that doesn't like to wear his diaper then yucks up my whole bedroom, and a four year old that smeared it on the toilet seat, I feel like I've cleaned up a LOT of poop today.

Here's a thought that I have every Sunday:

Sacrament Meeting ~ The Ultimate Diuretic (at least for children ages 10 and under).

Todd

For Todd, because I've been missing my brother:

A New Friend

Well, we really couldn't afford another dog, but I missed having one around. So in a moment of crazed weakness, we snatched up this little girl. Everybody's been calling her Ally (pronounced alley), so I think that's going to end up being her name. ~Get it, Nemesis (our cat) and Ally~ It was Bruce's idea. We picked her up last night. She's a lab / husky mix, and so far she's great! She seems more lab than anything, which was the attraction. We loved our lab, Chloe! I'm hoping that she'll turn out to have the same temperament as her predecessor. I've never done the puppy thing before, so I'm a bit nervous about the chewing and potty training. So far she's done REALLY well (knock on wood). Wish us luck!

Good Stuff, People!

I'm going to take a second to call you attention the new addition on my side bar, entitled Lovely, of Good Report and Praiseworthy. I wanted to share a few of my absolute favorite things. Everything there is guaranteed clean, wonderful, and uplifting. I would say LOVE, LOVE, LOVE about any of them!

John Rutter is an amazing British guy who founded the Cambridge Singers (who are wonderful, and have put out many an amazing thing). He writes absolutely beautiful choral things. His Three Musical Fables is a fun CD. It is exactly what it says, musical fables, but the music is great, and it's funny too. I love this CD and I think you all should check it out!!

I have recently discovered Vocal Point. Yeah, you BYU folks probably know all about them, but we outside of the bubble have to look a bit harder. I don't like their older CDs anywhere nearly as well, but I can't stop listening to their latest, Nonstop.

As for the books, Little Women has long been my favorite because it is wonderful! I LOVE anything James Herriot ever wrote. Cheaper by the Dozen, LOVE IT! I want to be that kind of parent (without having quite 12 children). As for The Hiding Place, it isn't the funnest read, but it is so inspiring! It's amazing how someone can find ways to be thankful and at peace through unimaginable hardships!

I could add more, and I'm sure I will later, but these starters are my absolute favorites.

Out Smarted Blogger, HA!

Okay, so maybe it doesn't take a genius to embed this video from my FB page, but here's the video from our Labor Day hike that I've been having trouble uploading.

Testing

I can't upload a video that I've made. It wont' upload here or on FB. I've tried many a time. Maybe it's my video. This one seems fine. Hmph. Well enjoy Big Head again. I'll see if I can figure out what's wrong with my new video.

Labor Day Fun

Bruce and Lydia started the day off with some squirrel hunting. About 10 minutes after they got home, Lydia called me to "Come and look at this!" on the front porch. I was busily trying to get the house in order so we could leave, so I wasn't thinking about where they had just been. I opened the door and saw this:
Like I said, I wasn't thinking about squirrel hunting, I just opened the door to my daughter holding what looked to be a large, dead, furry rodent by the tail. I screamed like a little girl and jumped in a circle, frantically shaking my hands. Lydia, Bruce and I all had quite a laugh at my sissiness. Clayton took the dead squirrel much better than I did.
Next we went to the state park with my parents. Justice wasted no time in finding a tree to climb. Can you see that little patch of red high up in the tree? That's him. He's the most sure footed kid I've ever seen. If Lydia had tried this at his age, I would have freaked out!
Here's a dog that Mark named Sirius Black. What a life this dog has! We were informed that he lives up the street from the picnic area where we were. He comes and shares in all of the picnics that everyone has. You couldn't ask for a nicer dog! The kids played fetch with him while the adults cooked. We miss our Chloe, and were happy for a canine to share our scraps and fun with. He was certainly fed well! I had to laugh when as soon as our picnic was over and the people at the next table down were getting out their hot-dogs, he took off and decided to hang out with them.
We roasted marshmallows. Yum!
Look closely at Clayton's "treat" that he cooked for himself. Not so yum!
In true Bruce fashion, he tried to have a little nap in the shade.
It didn't work out for him though.
Next we hiked for a couple of hours. I can't think of anything I like better than a hike with my family!
Lastly, the kids enjoyed a game of chess at the lodge while us old folks cooled our heels before we went home, just in time for bed.

Completely Unrelated Randomness

What You Hear When Seven People Are Getting Ready For Church In The Same Bathroom
As the CD player is rocking out to "4 x 1 is 4; 4 x 2 is 8..., " here were some of the other sounds:

"Bruce, he's putting his toy in the toilet!"

"That's my toy!"

"Hey, you sprayed me in the face!"

So it goes. You've got to love the chaos. Maybe I should encourage some of the kids to use the other bathroom sometimes.

A New Fun Way To Ride In The Van
On the way home from church last week, I heard Ross and Lydia suddenly scream in startled shock as Justice discovered what happens when you pull the handle that lays the back bench seat into a total recline. It has since become a total awesome fad to ride everywhere lying down in the back seat.


A Couple Of Funny Trees Down The Street
Every time I see this, I giggle thinking it looks like a monster coming out of the ground with his hands raised over his head.


Funny Uncle John
My brother John and his kids spent the night at our house the other night. We had a bonfire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. John lifted Mark high over his head as if he was going to throw him into the fire and yelled "I claim this child as a sacrifice!" Then he led all of the kids in a crazy Indian kind of hollering and dancing around the fire.
The next day we took the kids to the park. Ross brought a small Tupperware bowl to use as a boat on the lake. Unfortunately it sunk, so John took Ross all around and they built a boat out of three styrofoam cups, a bunch of sticks and a small branch for a rudder. It floated off a way into the lake, and they all amused themselves by throwing walnuts at it.


My Silly Boys While I Was Cleaning Out The Fridge

Boxing Tykes

I Don't Even Want to Consider the Possibilities

It's not generally a good thing when the two year old boy points into the fridge and says "Pee pee!" Especially when there is a yellow puddle at the bottom of the fridge that you thought was just something someone had spilled. I guess it's time to clean out the fridge.

I Just Figured Out Something

Dripping water on a person is an excellent way to get them out of bed and moving. I'm going to have to remember that one!