First Day of School

Here are a few pictures of my two kiddos on their first day of school this year. Parker is starting 1st grade this year and Alexia is in 3rd grade.

Sunday Wrestling Session

Sunday afternoons can get a little long around here with the no tv rule and 115 degree weather. I had to finally put my foot down with Parker and declare it unsafe for him to be outside in this hot of weather. Now in my family, wrestling was inevitable on a Sunday afternoon. I love wrestling with my kids. It involves mostly tickling, squashing, pinching little buns, and lots of raspberries on necks, arms, cheeks and tummies. But right now I'm in no condition to get down on the ground with kids.

Yesterday they got a little bored and needed to expend some physical energy. So since I couldn't do it with them, I enlisted the next best thing. Now you need to know that Darren's family didn't wrestle. He cringes when my family does it. It is usually a loud obnoxious activity and he isn't crazy about it. But he was a trooper that day and took one for the team.
The kids had so much fun! Daddy does it so different than mom! They can play a whole lot tougher and there isn't any pinching or tickling going on - Darren HATES to be tickled. Just a ton of running and jumping on dad. Getting squished by siblings and daddy-o, and throw downs, lots of throw downs.
Parker ended up with a huge bruise on his knee, a small one under his eye and a hickey looking thing on his arm. Lexi banged her head hard and had to sit out for a minute or two, but the fun being had by her little brothers soon lured her back in.
Look at the fun these kids are having. I may seriously be out of a job.

Potty Talk

So July around here is crazy hot. And with our time of use program with the electric company I make my house a cave from the hours of 1-8pm. The kids are home, there isn't much to do, and so we hibernate and watch movies all day long. It isn't a very fun month in Arizona. I decided that since we weren't going anywhere all month and it was too hot to get in the car and play around town, it was time to potty train Elijah. For three weeks we didn't go anywhere. After the first week I thought of giving up. He would go into the bathroom if I told him to, earn a sticker, and then leave a puddle on his sister's bed five minutes later. But seriously we had nothing better to do so we kept at it. By week two I was able to take the kids out for about an hour and he could stay dry. Somewhere in the middle of week three he started telling me himself that he had to go to the bathroom. We've been all over town and frequented many public restrooms but by golly, I think he's got it. Nights and naps are still done in a diaper - changing sheets just isn't worth it for me right now. But no more stinky diapers (for two months at least ;p ). It's a beautiful thing.

Now with all of these bathroom visits for Lije and being 8 months pregnant I told Darren the other day that I had to be in the bathroom all day long. Good thing mine are pretty colors. ;) I actually counted one day and just me - no potty training trips included - I was in there myself 9 times! Add in Elijah's trips every hour and I am sure I was in the bathroom over 20 times that day.

With all of those trips to the bathroom, and two different kinds of toilet paper in the two bathrooms - I buy what is on sale with a coupon - we have come to a monumental conclusion. Despite what the bears say, the little quilting ladies win out. The voting is unanimous here. Our family prefers Quilted Northern over Charmin. My mother is probably reading this saying, "Duh honey, I could have told you that." Long live the quilting ladies!

4th of July

Around here the 4th of July stinks. Seriously. Fireworks are not for sale and it is blazin' hot outside even after the sun goes down. A thirty minute firework show used to be the best and now it seems like it goes on and on while we swelter in the heat. So most of our holiday revolves around the food. And oh the food was soooo good this year. Darren was on a diet at the time, trying to win the Biggest Loser jackpot at work, (Which he did, by the way, losing 30 lbs in 10 weeks!) and so our menu consisted of lean proteins, and lots of veggies and fruit and grilled on the bbq - love grilled pineapple! We threw together our red, white and blue jello as well -sugar free this year. There was so much good stuff to eat. I'll forever be grateful that our kids aren't picky eaters. It allows us to ALL enjoy a great meal.
Later that evening we busted out the contraband sparklers that Grandpa Wells gave us. Elijah wasn't too sure about them though.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

Ten Years

Wow it's been ten years today that Darren and I were married. We had a lot of history then, or so I thought. We started out our marriage with $400 from his last check in Ogden and the first month's rent already paid on an apartment in Orem. We were living on love and a prayer that things would work out. Hey...we are still doing that. Darren and I were married at 21 and now as I write this I realize that I have been in love with this guy for half of my life. I realize that we could have easily become a statistic, but it wouldn't have happened. I had seen that picture of the Manti Temple on my parents wall for years and knew what it would take to get there. Plus I was bound and determined to marry a returned missionary and we knew what it would take to get him there too. It helped a ton that Darren was a good guy and felt no shame in being good. It is one of the reasons I was drawn to him.Ten Random Things About Darren & I Together:

1. The first time I cut Darren's hair was in highschool. It took me three hours. He looked like I gave him a buzz cut in the end. He never complained once about it. I still cut his hair all these years later. He still never complains.
2. I barely talked to Darren for two months after he bought my engagement ring. Talk about cold feet!
3. The first time I saw Darren after his mission the gap in his teeth took me by surprise. I had forgotten he had it.
4. Burger King holds a special place in my heart because we always went there after his baseball games and he would eat the other half of my whopper.
5. Our first fight after being married was about how to arrange the books on the bookshelf. We both wrote about it in our journals.
6. Darren and I generally like the same books. He finished all of the ones we were supposed to in highschool for our English class and then told me the endings if I didn't get it done.
7. Darren once cut a slice off of a stump, carved our initials into it, and sent it to me while I was away at college.
8. I still have tapes that Darren made for me just talking to me. I WILL NOT let him throw them away...ever!
9. Aerola, Colorado...nuf said.
10. When we were 18 I was on a cheerleading trip and shopping with some of the other girls. We must have been in Hallmark because there was a machine that you could make and print your own custom card. I made a card for Darren that day. The message inside said... "Even after all of these years together, you are still the one I run away with in my dreams." ...that message still applies.