A Shout Out to My Man

Happy 33rd birthday to my fabulous husband. We had a great day, even though it was Sunday. Ben and I made a delicious crepe breakfast (Ryan prefers his crepes with bananas, peanut butter, syrup, and whipped cream) complete with Uncle Scott smoothies. Then I had my customary meetings and then it was time for church. After church Ryan got a great nap and then we had chicken enchiladas and beans for dinner (Ryan's favorite). We then had an exciting present opening (everything is exciting with two little boys in the house). For dessert it was a delicious toll house layer cake--oh so yummy. Here are just a few amazing things about Ryan:

1. He's a great Dad. I don't think I realized until the last year just how many not great dads there are out there. He's one of the best.

2. He's a great husband. Ditto on the last one. Ryan has serious husband skills.

3. He is patient with my shortcomings.

4. He can get wild and crazy with his boys--and they love it (until they get hurt and come crying to me--what can you say?)

5. He loves his parents--and a great big shout out to Glenn and Kathy for raising a fantastic son.

6. He honors his Priesthood.

7. He's expanded my food horizons--I used to be the pickiest eater on the planet (no, really. There was a solid year of my life where I think I subsisted on Fruit Loops, frozen fish sticks, and peas). Now I love to try out new food.

8. He works hard to support his family.

9. He introduced me to the joys of a great beach vacation.

10. He is still fun to date.

11. He has a desire to do the right things.

12. He supports me in my crazy whims wholeheartedly.

13. He compliments me.

14. He loves to read--though it does drive me crazy when he downloads books on his Blackberry and reads them--how can you read a novel on a PDA?

15. He knows a little bit about a lot of stuff (occasionally useless, but often very useful)

16. He likes to dress nice--no leaving the house in holey sweats and ripped T-shirts.

17. He is silly--most of you will not believe this, but you just don't know Ryan well enough yet.

Happy 33rd! Here's to the next great 66 birthdays.

Boys vs. Girls

Ben is very particular about the use of adjectives, especially pertaining to feminine and masculine. There are certain things that are specifically for boys and certain words for girls.

Anyway, Ben and I made a birthday breakfast for Ryan this morning while Ryan and Todd were still sleeping. Ben set the table all by himself, carefully placing appropriate colored plates at each place. He put himself next to me and put Ryan and Todd together on the other side. When we sat down, he very pointedly explained that he was sitting next to me (it is something of an ongoing battle). In response to Ben's careful explanation, Ryan said, "Ben, is mom cool?"

Ben very adamantly answered, "No." Well, OK, I guess, I'm not cool.

But then he thought for a moment and said, "She's cute."

Good boy, Benny.

Ego Slammer

We were having family home evening on Monday. We read a story in the Friend about a boy named Benjamin. One of the illustrations was of a dad who was . . .bald. Ben looked right at the picture and said, "Look, Dad, it's you."

Not five minutes later, Ben ran his fingers through his own hair, looked at Todd and I, and proclaimed, "We have good hair." Then he looked quizzically at Ryan, grinned, and said, "You have pokey hair."

Way to get Dad's ego with a one-two punch, Mr. Ben. I, for one, think Ryan looks hot with his semi-shaved look.

Clean anatomy

Ben was playing with a flashlight tonight so I obediently opened my mouth and said, "Aaahhhh."

Todd went right along with it as well, but he explained to Ben, "See that thing hanging down at the back of my throat? That's my lung."

I tried to contain myself, but I'll admit I laughed long and hard.

My Pirate Name

Your Pirate Name Is...

Evil Hairy Legs

What's" Your Pirate Name?

Fuzzy

We were changing the sheets on our bed the other day and Ben was helping. He started rubbing the blanket and said, "What's this fuzzy thing?"
Ryan said, "How do you know the word fuzzy, Ben?"
Ben replied, "I speak Spanish."

Blast From The Past

Benny Man

Ben is hilarious. What else can I say?

And here's another one for more enjoyment. It's a veggie tales quote from our recent favorite, Moe and the Big Exit. In case you can't understand him, he's saying, "It's the mayor. . .and he's got a posse."

Creative Cutting

I'm thinking that since I have a lot of time on my hands, I'm going to open a hair salon with a twist. All hair cuts will be given while wearing swim goggles, to allow for maximum viewing of videos without hair getting in the cuttees eyes. Great concept, eh? Actually, I can't take credit for the idea. It was entirely Todd's brainchild. It has saved us from much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

Happy Independence Day

We had a great 4th of July this year, even with a few fatigue tears thrown in to the mix. On the 3rd, we attended a stake orchestra/choir concert. It was a fantastic reminder of what independence day is really about. We live in an amazing country, even if at times it is riddled with political strife and legislation I don't necessarily agree with. We are given much, and thus much is required of us. I realize I need to be better educated about what goes on in our nation, and find out how I can enact change.


Our friend, Jake Westwood, returned home from Iraq on Thursday morning, and they made special mention of him at the fireside. We're so happy that he's home with his five girls. Thanks, Jake, for serving our country and defending the freedoms of Americans and others who can't defend themselves.



That night we enjoyed the fireworks show put on by the city of North Las Vegas. The boys loved the fireworks. I have to admit that I am a nazi mom when it comes to bedtime and I think this might be only the second time that we have ever attended a fireworks show. We did pay for the late night Friday with some supreme grouchiness from both munchkins--supreme grouchiness. And did you know that if a 2 year old eats too much licorice that the diaper the next day will actually take on that color? Good stuff.



On Friday, we went to Summerlin to party with our friends, the Ellisons. It was a great day because Livi was home from the hospital! She got home on Tuesday and we visited her Wednesday and then went over for the 4th on Friday. She was even off her TPN for the day so she got to go swimming (though the water was ridiculously cold--how, I wonder, can anything be cold when it's 110 degrees outside? This is the mystery of Las Vegas. Do they chill the water? We don't know).






We ate a delicious dinner--tri-tip, barbecue chicken, ribs, potatoe salad, corn, and a lovely Pavlova for dessert. I might add that we ate outside and the weather didn't seem that oppressive--we must be getting used to Vegas. Rachel and Bill's neighbors are from New Zealand and Britain, so the conversation was delightful and made me wish I had an accent. The New Zealanders actually have a 10 year old and a 13 year old, so Todd loved the evening hanging out with Livi and getting some rough and tumble with the big boys.







Then we got the Summerlin fireworks from the Red Rock casino, another good show. The evening ended with major tears of exhaustion, but luckily, Ben only cried for about three blocks before he was sound asleep.



Overall, a great weekend.

The Job

I was talking with some friends the other night and one of them mentioned how often she feels like she has to remind herself that her job is to take care of her children. It isn't to make her house immaculate. It isn't to keep up on crafts or dishes or great TV shows. The job that she chose is motherhood. Full time.

It got me thinking. How do I define myself? Are the things that I do an accurate reflection of the mother I want to be? The wife I want to be? The woman I want to be? Are my actions congruent with my goals? What benchmarks accurately measure how I'm doing? These are the kinds of questions that make motherhood such a challenge. We have no performance reviews, no raises, no promotions. Rarely do we even get kudos for a job well done. So what is the measure?

As I thought about that, I realized there were a million different answers. But for me. . .today. . .it is the happiness of my children. Not the sugar-hyped, play-station induced thing they think is happiness--that's not what I mean. Rather, the gleeful, gut-chugging belly laughs when my boys are playing together and land in a perfect moment. Or the kindness of my children; Todd's careful hand around the waist of his sick little friend as he walks her to and from the couch. The innocence of my children; Ben's face crusted with Dorito slime passed out on the couch, exhausted after a perfect morning on the sand.

I know I can't tie my entire self worth into my children, but I think as a mom, those are the moments I have to cherish and hang on to. My performance reviews will never be posted on my cubicle wall. They'll be posted on my heart. (and occasionally on my blog)

Sun, Sand, Surf, Sickness?

So here's a little travelogue of our week in San Diego--simply the best vacation on the planet. After a week at the beach, even a mommy feels like she's had a vacation (or at least as much of a vacation as a mommy gets to have). We had a fantastic week. We went with our good friends, the Jones family, so our kids had built-in playmates when they were in a good mood and built-in sparring partners when they were grouchy. We did have a touch of the flu that recurred throughout the week, and Ryan had a sinus thing going on, but aside from that, it was great. So here are a few of the highlights from the week (in no particular order):

• Bikes--We hauled our own bikes this year, complete with the seat for Ben on my bike. Super fun. Todd is big enough to ride quite expertly--he got great at maneuvering around people on the boardwalk. We even rode down to the pier on Pacific Beach, an hour round trip. Alas, no pictures of the bikes. But a ton of fun.


• Boogie Boarding--Lightweight Todd caught some great waves and took them all the way to the shore. We even got him to dive under a few waves.

• Sand castles. This was the main highlight of the week for our kids. They simply could not get enough of digging in the sand. Luckily, Ryan and our friend Steve were good sports and spent many hours with shovel in hand. I scooped several hundred shovelfuls myself. The best sand castle is one built close enough to the shore so that the tide attacks and eventually destroys the castle. Good stuff.
  


• Todd. He's so much fun to be around (except in the middle of the night with the flu). He has a great laugh. We loved to get him to say, "We're losing containment" when a sand castle was about to go down.


• Kites. We got an inexpensive controllable kite. If you've never tried one before (two strings, handles attached to straps on your wrists) you have to give it a go. I am personally quite a stinky kite flyer, but Ryan can do some nice moves. Again, no pictures, but good stuff.
• Smashball. Ryan and I got 39 hits. Todd and I got up to a massive 5. Everything is fun at the beach.
• Wiffleball. We've discovered that Todd has a hidden talent. He can really whack the ball. Interesting. . .



• Ben. Literally, the kid is happy pretty much all the time (OK, not all the time. But if he is unhappy, he has a good reason). He is so darn photogenic and stinkin' cute with his blondy blond hair and blue eyes. We sure like him.




• Snorkeling--Mission Beach isn't exactly the mecca for snorkeling, but Ryan and I went around the rocks at the end of the peninsula anyway. We saw all sorts of fish and even a ray (about dinner plate sized). It's amazing to peek in on another world under the water. Very relaxing. We're determined to make it to Hawaii or Cozumel to try some tropical snorkeling. I'm including a picture of myself just to prove that my head did go under the water (for all of you who know me well).
  


• Speaking of rays, we saw a huge one in the bay, about 3 feet off shore. It was probably about 3 feet wide and had quite a long tail. It was fascinating. Later, Todd didn't want to go out in the bay very far because he was afraid of the r-a-y (he spelled it out). We couldn't get him to go snorkeling with us because he was a little freaked out.