8 Years!

I am a couple of days late in posting this, but I always love this time of June.

Eight years ago, on June 21, 2000, I entered the M.T.C. for my mission to Neuquen, Argentina. And I can honestly say it was the BEST 18 months of my life. And by far the HARDEST. Much harder than I thought it would be. And far more REWARDING than I dreamed of. I honestly think I would go back in a heart beat if given the second chance.The M.T.C. was such a wonderful place for me. I had a great companion and awesome district. For those that don't know, I met Elder Smythe there. Wonderful District Leader. :) It was a long 9 weeks and also some of the funnest times. Then it was off to Argentina. Jason is standing right next to me.I remember meeting all my family and friends there in the airport, (pre 9/11) and having a final chance to say good bye. It was HARD!!! I can remember crying my heart out to my mom and telling her that I didn't want to go anymore and that I had changed my mind. She may not even have heard what I said as it was probably impossible to understand me through all my sobs. And I distinctly remember her saying to me, "Oh what? You want me to take your luggage off the plane and cancel everything?!!" Telling me in a sarcastic tone. And I immediately said, "YES!" She gave me a last hug and encouraged me as a mom does. Even the Elder in charge of traveling got off the plane to make sure I was going to board it. My dad told him, "Yes, she is coming. And help her with her things." It's funny to think back on that day and all those crazy emotions I went through. I now see that was only the beginning. I arrived in Argentina as the only sister, and was very anxious to meet the President and his wife. Presidente George y Hermana George. WONDERFUL WONDERFUL people. He taught me some of life's greatest lessons. And Hermana George taught me priceless principles of motherhood. I will never forget them or the impact they had on my life as a woman, mother, wife and child of God. They were prefect examples of the life I want to live. It's amazing to be such an intricate part of building the Kingdom of God. Something I need to focus on more often than I do.I could obviously go on and on about my mission experience and how it was incredible, amazing, life changing, challenging, strengthening, etc. But I won't. :) That is what my mission journals are for. I just wanted to document this special time for me to remember and think about. It never hurts to have reminders of the things that make us who we are. And for me, I am still learning from my mission. I can't imagine my life without that experience. Especially without Jason. :)
Ahhh, June 21st.
(I aplogize for the horrible quality of my pictures. I have no clue how to work my scanner. Just pushing the button isn't seeiming to work. So, these are pictures of pictures). And proof that I can get dirty when for a good cause. For all those that find it hard to see me as a missionary in South America. Give me some credit! :) I would do it over and over again.

Chubs?

I am sitting here setting up this awesome thing my sister Jill told me about called, "My Rewards Board" and Jackson is loving it. For all you that have children that are ready to start helping out, this is great. And it is free for the first 15 days. Depending on how well he does, I just might buy it. I mean come on. I have made the charts plenty of times and know good and well that I hate having them up in my house. Messing and ugly. So, maybe this is the key to my success. But here is the reason I am posting.

All the sudden Jackson was feeling my upper arm. Then rubbing it. Then out of nowhere he said, "You have a little bit of chubs on your arm." WHAT!!!!

I laughed and said, "I do?" He said, "Yeah, a little." I told him, "No I don't." He said, "Yeah, you do."

Well, excuse me for having three kids in 3 1/2 years. And for loving chocolate chip cookies and delicious mint brownies. (Thanks a lot Jocelyn. This is all your fault!!). And for not being as serious as I should about my work outs. WAAAAAA!!!

Then he asked me if he had chubby arms. I told him no. And then he asked about his legs. And his face. And then his buns. LOL! So, I told him he didn't have any chubs anywhere. Then I took the scary step of asking him if I did. And bless his heart. . . I only have chubs on my arms. :)

Too scared to hike?

Me: "You guys want to go hiking tomorrow?"

Jackson: "Nah. I'm too scared of wolves and bears."

Noah: "Yeah, I want to go hiking."

Jackson: "The bears can scratch through our tents Noah." (Telling him in a warning voice. . . like he better think twice).

Noah: "Yeah!! Bears!"

And there is the personality of my boys.

On another note, I got a new stroller and I can't wait to get it!! I have been coveting many a stroller the last 6 months or so and just can't seem to find one that I am happy with. Why can't someone design the perfect stroller? It doesn't seem too hard to me. Is a mom ever involved in it? Ever?
~cup holder for both parent and child. Like bigger than a bottle of water.
~napper bar
~good storage basket
~LIGHT WEIGHT!!!
~small
~fold easily
Is that too much to ask for?

A few weeks ago I bought the Peg Perego double side by side. No good. I own the Combi side by side and have loved it, but seriously need a new stroller. Just for the look of something new and not abused. It has been almost 3 years. I am ready! The sit and stand sounds like a good idea, but I seriously dislike pushing that long of an object. And the nicest brand I could find was still not that nice. I returned the Peg Perego (thanks Libby) and bought this:

I hope it will be prefect. Or at least closer to perfect than any of the rest. Noah refuses to sit in the stroller so I bought a nice single. PLEASE BE GOOD!!! I will let you all know for future stroller purchases. (To my sister. They make a nice double side by side).

And I am posting random pictures just so grandparents can get SUPER excited for this little clan to come soon. :)LOVE this little addition to our back yard. Perfect for Ellie and the boys are enjoying it too.Shoving her mouth full of blueberries.Noah, Nora and Jackson at the Mt. Lebanon pool this week. The weather here has been so hot! We went to Nora's pool (a country club) last week and now the community pool seems like a total dump. Bring on the country club for me!! Post to come. Libby found out where the nearest Nordstrom is from here and we decided to take a day and scout it out. I had a great time. Minus my CRAZY and out of control children the last 2 hours. Next time I go, it will be without kids. I still managed to spend plenty of money. No worries. Poor Melanie was stuck in the middle of the van with small children surrounding her. You are strong Mel.

The UPS man delivered my stroller an hour ago and it is AWESOME!! And since I forgot to tell you the name of it. . . Baby Planet Solo Deluxe. I am loving it. But I have only pushed it around my house. All 12 feet of my house. :)

Just to remember

This is simply for my own memory.

Today, while driving to the mall I asked Jackson (and Noah) if they knew what religion we were. A friend of mine and I were talking today in her car and her daughter repeated us saying "I'm a Mormon" and I wondered if Jackson would know to tell someone that if he was asked. Nope.

So I said, "Are we Mormon?"

Jackson said, "Oh yeah. I am a Mormon." (Noah repeated him).

Then I kept on driving. Baby Einstein was blasting in the back round and I was enjoying the quiet in the front of the van. :)

Then Jackson asked me, "Mom, when is Jesus going to come again?" I said, "One day He will come again and it will be wonderful. But no one knows when that will be."

Then he said, "So, I guess he will just land then? Maybe fly?" (I am pretty sure he was talking about taking an airplane). I smiled. And then had no clue how to explain His "arrival" so I said, "Almost like He is floating."

Jackson just stared out the window and I could tell he was trying to picture it. For him, I think it was fun to imagine Jesus flying. And I thought it was so sweet that he wanted to know more about Jesus coming again. I know Jason and I try to talk about those things often, but never often enough. I am thankful for primary teachers that teach him so much. He is at such an impressionable age.

This was just a simple little memory that I wanted to have forever.

About time!

I have been seriously out of it when it comes to blogging. I guess I just needed a good break from it. And my mom has been asking faithfully for a new update. She misses my kids. Not my stories. :) So, I am going to just post a few pictures and say we are all good.

The weather is great. The kids are as cute as ever and we are getting ready to go on vacation in a couple of weeks to Oregon and Utah. The boys are really excited to see their grandparents.
I took this tonight because I loved how she was laying in her crib. Those pj's won't stay snapped right there on the thigh because they are so juicy! :)

This was taken right before we left for the ward Memorial Day Party. It was a lot of fun and I have a super committee that does so much to help me. THANKS! It turned out wonderful.
Just eating donuts in the front yard.
A nice day at the park with some friends. Jackson and Jack were loving it!
We went to dinner with some friends a few nights ago and before we ate let the boys run in the water. We did change their clothes after. :) Jackson loved it. Noah didn't want to get wet.
Ellie and Jack eating dinner together at the Cheesecake Factory.
Last night we had a Girls Night at my house that was a lot of fun. I couldn't find a babysitter and Jason was on call so we decided to just do it at my house and wear our comfy clothes and eat treats. What could be better than that? I always love my girl time and the friendships that I build and strengthen. These girls here in Pittsburgh really mean a lot to me and I am so grateful for the friendships we have. (Sniffle, sniffle). :) Getting to church by 9am was rough this morning, but totally worth the 2am late night!!!
(Back row: Linda, Melanie, Gina, Mary Jane. Front row: Elise, Debi, Rachelle, Jana, Jodelle, Libby)

Dance Party!

Noah was loving his music tonight. And so was Ellie. :) Jackson was, (still is) outside playing with the neighbor kids and Noah and Ellie stayed in to have a bath and get ready for bed. It's almost time to say goodnight.

We also had a major play date today with Nora and Tess. They were here from 11:30am-5pm. And it was totally fine by me. Tess is her little sister and is the same age as Noah. They were here from 11:30am-5pm. And it was totally fine by me. It was perfect. While the kids were playing I was imagining one day in the future when (IF) I have a few more kids, life might get easier. They all played together so well and I actually had a few minutes to myself. Let's not forget that Ellie took two, 2 1/2 hour naps so that eliminated one kid. :) We had a good day. And for dinner, we had that Chicken and Corn Chowder from Costco. Yummy. A must buy. (Just something I want to share for the benefit of all). :)

And GET THIS!!!! Noah is on his way to being a potty trained child. I shouldn't way anything for the fear of it all falling apart. But so far, so good. He goes poopy all by himself now. (make that THREE times today). And that is a MIRACLE for him. Slowly, it is coming together. And I am relieved!!! I am getting a little sick of having to ask all the time if he needs to go potty. But I hope that will end soon enough. And I am also getting tired of the bribes. Whatever works though! I will keep everyone posted because I know how interesting this topic of my life is to everyone. HA! Maybe I will spare you all the details from here on out. Unless it is a blog worthy event. :) And then I am going to share it!

A little bit of fun in the sun!

Here is a little warning to anyone that might be bored. This is a bit long with several pictures. But all at the request of my parents and also for my own personal memory. Feel free to skip. But if you do. . . RUDE! :)

On May 4th we left for a week long vacation to Orlando, Florida. A couple of our friends joined us and we had a great time. The Nelson's whole family came and Melanie and her baby came. The condo was plenty big for all of us and that made it nice. I had a lot of fun spending so much time with a couple of my best friends and my sweet little family.The weather was perfect!!! Especially when we came home to storms and freezing weather. Well, freezing? No. But cold, yes. Go away ugly gray clouds and cold rain!
We spent most of our time hanging out by the pools and trying to get some much needed color on my pasty white skin. And that is putting it lightly. I actually lean more towards purple skin. :) My kids LOVE the water. And I love watching them play in it. They have no fear. I guess that can be a good and bad thing. I never take my eyes off them. Brooke and I both bought some pool toys that made the time pass perfectly. And Melanie had the GREATEST thing ever for her little girl. So Brooke and I both decided to buy our little girls one. They were little floaty things with canopy's on them. Perfect. And you know what else was perfect? Strawberry Coladas!!!! I couldn't seem to get enough of those.
My cousin Anna works at Disney World and was able to babysit for us one day while all the adults went to Islands of Adventure. That was so fun. We rode the Hulk first and that gave me a headache. A major headache. But riding the rides was too fun to stop. We rode Dueling Dragons SEVERAL times back to back. Thanks to baby swap. We figured out how to beat the system with that. :) I had a lot of fun there and was so happy to get to go there without my kids. And we were able to get some seriously cheap tickets to the park for listening to one of those EXTREMELY boring time share presentations. Jason and I faked like we were my parents and were owners so I had to act like I knew what he was talking about while trying to sell the time share on Brooke and Cody. What a joke. But here is the best joke of all. Get set.

So, Melanie wanted to get the discount to the theme park as well. But apparently Marriott has a rule that you have to either have your husband with you during the presentation or be legally divorced. We tried doing the whole "I'm separated" thing, but that didn't work. And then the lies came FLOWING!!! Melanie had to go talk to a certain person about getting permission to listen to the presentation and he just wouldn't budge on the policy. And from what I could see, Melanie was holding strong to her story as well. We all thought she might have seriously started to believe she really was divorced. :) But all that for nothing. Melanie headed back to the condo empty handed of discount tickets while the rest of us had to sit there and fake interested. I actually am interested in buying a time share or two one day. Just not yet. For obvious reasons. (Hello, my parent's let me use theirs and they have way too many to count). :) Our "presenter" let us sneak into another resort that had an AWESOME pool for the kids. And that made the whole thing worth it. That pirate pool was perfect for the kids. I loved that day.
(This is just a random picture of little El's. One of the rare times she wasn't in her bathing suit).

We also spent a day at the Magic Kingdom and that was a super fun and exhausting day. And I loved every bit of it. I just love it there. I think I love watching my boys light up to all the fun and excitement that surrounds them at Disney World. Jackson is a roller coaster lover. Maybe next year Noah will be tall enough to ride a few more bigger rides. I think he is going to get a little sick of Peter Pan and Goofy's Wild Ride real soon. I know I am sick of It's a Small World. I couldn't even bear the thought of going on it. So we didn't. :)(Noah loves Zurg. And Captain Hook. Can you see a pattern? Help.) :)

The resort was gorgeous and had a lot to do for all of us. Swimming in several different pools, rock climbing, fishing, boating, jungle gym for the kids, food, (we bought most of our food and cooked there), gym room for adults, you name it. The guys went fishing a little bit at night and Cody managed to squeeze fishing into every day. That guy is a fisher! But speaking of rock climbing. Yes, I did it. And yes I was scared of how tall the wall was. After a pathetic first attempt I tried it again and actually made it to the top. Twice. Unfortunately I repelled with very little grace the first time that no one was able to see me in all my glory of actually doing it right. :) But bum slammed into the wall twice and it hurt. :) And you might be thinking Melanie and Brooke were there for me. But they weren't. Unless you call laughing so hard they were crying as "being there." So yeah, not there. But it was a lot of fun. I remember the days of rock climbing in high school because that is what all the boys I had crushes on did. I never thought how nasty my behind looked in those straps. I should have thought of that.I had some great family time and much needed girl time all at once. I actually miss the late nights of staying up with the girls talking and laughing. So much comes out in the wee hours of the morning. It reminded my of the days of roommates and sharing so much with each other.
So, it was a great vacation with wonderful friends and SUPER memories. I hope we can do it again one day soon.