our "cheese" POTD

I never thought Nate would like the camera. Up until recently, he always ran away from it. But now he sees the camera and wants to say "cheese" with his silly little grin that usually means his eyes are almost shut. So, we take a lot of random photos throughout the day. Usually it's just of Nate but last night he wanted mama in it. He loves to look at the camera screen and tell me who is in the picture. So here's our "cheese" POTD.



{yes, my eye is still a little purple.}

our weekend

Wes spent this weekend at home in Marietta, Georgia. During his senior year of highschool, his baseball team won the state and national championship. They are the only team in the state of Georgia to ever accomplish this so they honored the team on Friday night and had a little baseball reunion. It's times like this when our frequent flyer rewards come in handy! He had fun at the baseball reunion and got to spend some quality time with his parents which doesn't happen nearly enough. He even got to go out on the lake on the jet skis! Thank you Robert, Doreen & Jeff for being his personal chauffeur.

While Wes was gone, Nate and I kept ourselves busy. On Friday, I went to my parent's house around noon and put Nate down for his nap there. My mom was planning on being home all afternoon so she let me run errands alone while Nate slept! He took 45 minute naps all week and I think it caught up with him because he slept for 3.5 hours! It is amazing how much you can accomplish in 3.5 hours without your kiddos. I ran endless errands and he still wasn't awake so I went home, blared some music, and organized. It was amazing. Seriously, amazing. My mom/dad brought Nate to Cafe Rio where we met up with Ali & the girls and Sam for a yummy dinner and a Nielsen's I-cone for dessert.

Saturday involved my parent's house again. My brother-in-law Tripp has been out of town, too and so my parent's were watching Daisy for part of the day on Saturday. Nate and I decided to go over there so the cousins could play a little bit. Both Nate and Daisy took a nap and my mom, Sam & I ran to a fabric store I recently discovered (thanks Brooke!). It's a good thing I can't sew or else I'd spend a lot of money there! The kiddos woke up and played outside with grandma's sink. Despite getting absolutely soaked in their only set of clothes - all three kids had a good time.

{please don't mock my child's outfit. Half jammies, half polo shirt & a cowboy hat. It's what happens at our house on a Saturday afternoon.}

While Nate and Daisy were eating lunch, they both kept yelling "dada". Both of their dads travel alot and the kiddos definitely miss them.

When we weren't at my parent's house, we were . . .

Working on the golf swing.

Being silly.

And we went to church.

Yes, he's still obsessed with hats. He has one on almost all of the time. Nate let his cousin Spence borrow his cowboy hat and we recently got it back and he will not stop wearing it - even though it's way too small! Church is a challenge with no hat on!

To answer your question -

the sink can be found at your nearest Costco or Toys r Us. The brand is Step 2. You'll need two D batteries. I highly recommend it for all toddlers.

nate gave me a black eye

Have you ever had a black eye from a 20-month old? I now have my first visible mama war wound from my little dude.

It was Sunday afternoon right after his nap. We play catch a lot so he's always throwing things. Nate was sitting next to me on the couch holding both Wes' phone and my phone. All of a sudden, he decided to throw my Blackberry at me. And it hit that bone right under my eye. Holy cow it was painful. Tears streamed down my face! Luckily it was a very innocent act so I couldn't get mad at him.

This picture is with make-up on so you can't totally tell that it's swollen and purple, but it is. I got quite a few double-takes today!

who knew a play sink could be so fun?

Every once in a while I find a toy for Nate that will make my life a little easier. And when I do - I usually buy it. Especially when it's small enough to fit in my teeny tiny backyard.



This time it happens to be a water-saving toy for the summer. Nate LOVES water - especially running water. But once the tub is full or the plants are watered the running water comes to an end. That’s why this outdoor sink is fabulous! With the help of a few batteries – a little bit of water gets recycled over and over in this sink so he can have endless running water & then the potted plants can have a drink when he's done. The sink also comes with cups, dishes, silverware so he’s learning to do the dishes, too. He spent quite a bit of time outside tonight playing with his new toy!

It's a handy toy, too. When you're thirsty - you take a drink.



Nate was nice enough to offer some "juice" to his dad . . .



He even decided to wash his own hair in the sink.

Hooray for fun toys.

easter

Our Easter was f a b u l o u s. I am reminded every year how much I love this holiday. I love thinking about my Savior and the wonderful sacrifice He made for us and for the wonderful gift of the Atonement. And I have to admit that I love the commercialized part of the holiday, too. I love the Easter Bunny, easter egg hunts, easter baskets filled with yummy easter candy. I love it all. And having a kiddo around makes it even more fun. I think next year will be the year that he starts to understand a little bit more.



First of all, the weather was p e r f e c t. No wind. Perfect temperature. It was heavenly. The best part was that we spent the afternoon & evening outside in my parent's backyard with family and friends.



We ate outside - my mom always sets a beautiful table with fresh flowers. We had my immediate family (minus the Thompsons who were in Yuma - we missed you guys), Aunt Kara & Uncle Allan, Uncle Jerry & Halene, Gerry & Marilyn Earl & the Sam/Anya Earl family (life-long family friends) over for dinner. It was great to sit and chat over yummy food.

{i handed nate a cupcake for dessert to see what he'd do with it. he looked at me like he did at his first birthday party - really, mom? i can eat this?" he only wanted the frosting this time.}





Nate had an absolute blast with Noah and Ikey Earl. They were so nice to him and totally played with him which is quite impressive for a 4 year old and a 3 year old! It pretty much looked like this all evening - Noah leading the way with Ikey & Nate right behind him. They played on the slide, in the rocks & in the tunnels until it was time for the Easter Egg Hunt.





We moved to the front yard for the egg hunt. Noah and Ike were all about finding the eggs. Nate was too, at first. Then he realized that there was candy in the eggs and he plopped down in the middle of the grass and started opening all of his eggs and eating the candy as fast as he could. It was pretty funny. My mom put a small ball in each of the boys easter buckets and they threw them in the front yard for a l o n g time. Nate loved playing with two big boys.




I think this picture pretty much sums up the day!

5:30pm - 6:30pm

When Wes is in town, 5:30pm - 6:30pm is my favorite time of the day. {When he's out of town, it's my least favorite time of the day.}

Right after dinner, Wes spends a quality hour of time with Mr. Nate. Sometimes I join them. Sometimes I opt to clean up after the day while the boys play outside. When I'm inside, the door is always open so I get to hear Nate giggle for an hour as he plays with his favorite person. Nate loves to play with his dad. Usually they go on a walk, a bike ride, or play some basketball. But now they've added playing with the hose/watering the plants and tennis to the list.



At 6:30, Wes gives Nate a bath and then it's back to mama for jammies, books and bedtime!

this time we were missing Laurel Plewe . . .

Last week our dear friends Laurel & Brad were in town so we met them and Trisha & Josh at The Melting Pot for dinner. Trisha and Laurel W. were two of my college roommates and they are still my dear friends so I always enjoy seeing them and their hubbies. We missed you, Laurel P. & Ryan!

I made the mistake of not eating very much during the day before we went to the Melting Pot. So I basically filled an empty stomach with a pot of cheese and chocolate. Not a good series of events. Whether it was that or whether I caught a flu bug, I got so sick! I finally kept food down on SATURDAY! I don't think I've ever been sick that many days in a row. And to answer the question that just popped in to your mind, no . . . I'm not pregnant. It was a crappy way to start the month of April after such a crazy March. But at least it's over now.

I got SO MUCH accomplished today - it was so nice to feel back to normal with some energy! Lets just say while the food was yummy at The Melting Pot, I'm not sure I'll be eating fondue anytime soon.

all bundled up

We've been trying to get to the cabin for months now but the weather never cooperates. It finally did this weekend and we were able to spend the weekend all bundled up in the snow. I love to V I S I T the snow and freezing cold.

We met my parents up there on Friday afternoon. Sam joined us for the road trip which means you're always in for a good time. We even got to stop and eat at The Pizza Factory in St. George. One of the many "Utah foods" that I miss.



Saturday was really fun. The mountains are b e a u t i f u l all covered in snow - I found myself just staring out the windows a lot. It was quite the change of scenery from this desert we live in. We managed to watch the majority of conference in between a few adventures outside . . .



I thought FOR SURE Nate would love the snow. He's Mr. Adventurous so the thought never occured to me that he'd be terrified of it. {He liked playing in it when it snowed in Vegas a few months ago}. But, I thought wrong. He hated it. Something about our big, black sled scared him to death which made him scared of the snow, too. He was even scared while driving in the car on snow. He covered his eyes the entire time. He liked being outside as long as the sled was no-where to be seen. He loved having his hat, boots & gloves on!









My mom took Nate inside and he kept saying mama so I went in with them while Sam, Wes & my dad went sledding. They ended up near the meadow, sledding down a big road covered in snow. It started with Wes and Sam each going alone. Then Wes and Sam went together. And then they decided to come get me at the cabin so we could try all three of us going at once. Poor Wes had ALOT of weight on him! But I have to say it was awesome.







Here's a video of all three of us . . . Wes laid down on the bottom, then Sam, and then me.



I've been wanting to play in the snow all winter and I finally got my chance. It was so nice to be up there for a little break. Five adults to one toddler is a great ratio!