Thank you, Don!

A producer at KUTV2 news gave us tickets to the "Greatest Show on Earth", probably because my kids are the sweetest, most adorable kids on the whole earth! Okay, really the producer is my brother-in-law, who could get tickets for free from the station, and he is just a really thoughtful guy who knew my kids would love it. Uncle Don is now a hero to 4 little boys, and 2 moms, because we all had a blast. . .made even more wonderful by the fact that it was free.

I have never been to the circus before, and I thought it was amazing.

One of the most amazing things about the circus, was that it held my kids' attention for 2 1/2 hours.

The kids loved the animal acts the most. Nick also really loved the dogs doing tricks, despite the fact that he HATES dogs in every day life. Nick said, his favorite part was the "Fwoo Whoo" part, whatever that means. I think the two older boys understood how scary, and incredible it is that one guy can be in the same cage with 8 tigers, basically dancing with them.

However, I think it was the Moms who were really wowed by the acrobats, the tight-rope walkers, and whatever these are called pictured below. I'm not sure the kids completely understood how freakin' amazing these people are. Maybe a little, though, because I asked Gavin if he wanted to be in the circus when he grows up and he said, "No way! I'm not going way up there." (Referring to the tight rope.)

I don't know what it was about this act, but it made me really jump. I don't know if he was just hamming it up for the show, but one guy seemed to nearly lose his balance and fall off several times. Crazy!
And of course, every circus must have clowns. These were by far the cutest ones!
Thanks again, Uncle Don, you rock! Please remember how cute and adorable and appreciative these kids are whenever tickets for free events come your way! ;)

Father's and Sons Campout

So I'm about a week late in posting this, but it was a big deal for our family. Mike took our sons on their first ever father's and sons campout. It was a big hit! The weekend before the campout, Mike and the boys (and the neighbor boys) had a trial run campout in our backyard. It went well, the boys slept through the night, so they were ready to attempt a real, legit campout.

Not only was this their first father's and sons campout, but it was really their first time camping EVER. I think it went really well. Although, I think at one point our 3 year old got lost in the woods (not kidding) a detail which Mike downplayed. Mike wasn't too worried about it, since they weren't exactly camping in a remote area and there were several wards camping in the vicinity. He wasn't the only kid who got lost (albeit for a short amount of time), so I guess that's just what happens when the Dads are in charge.

It went smoothly enough that Mike wants to make it an annual tradition. In fact, I think he'd like to camp even more often than that. Now that our boys are getting old enough for more adventure. Good thing he has two sons then, so I can send them all off camping. Because, I gotta admit, I'm really not that fond of camping.

My Dad asked my sons how the campout went, and Nick said, "It was so awesome. We got to pee in a bottle!" I guess that was the highlight. Mike had brought bottles into the tent, so they wouldn't have to hike down to the bathrooms at night. I think that is why men like camping and the mountains so much, so they can just pee anywhere with reckless abandon.

Now, I really need to give credit to my Man where credit is due. Sometimes he amazes me with his patience. I fully expected him and the boys to be tired and cranky the next day and for Mike to be ready for a break from father/son bonding time. But, to my surprise he decided to take them (and the neighbor kids) to the Comic book shop for some special event right after they returned from the campout. WOW! Impressive.
Here's Gavin with "Spiderman" at the comic book shop. Did you know that Spiderman has a daughter? She's kind of a diva, because she demanded to be in every kid's picture with Spiderman.

Needless to say, it was a great weekend for the boys. And me. ;)

Romance Revisited

So, it's true, my husband dropped the ball on my birthday. He did NOTHING. I cried. He apologized. I'm not usually one to pout, but I think this particular fit has been building for many years. Hopefully we've both learned a little bit. From now on, I will not celebrate my birthday on any other day other than my actual birthday, because apparently that is just too confusing for a man, and I guess I'm still just immature enough that I need some attention on the actual day of my birthday (even if it falls on a Wednesday.) And only time will tell if Mike learned anything. Dr. Phil says, "you teach people how to treat you", so that is why I finally decided to not excuse my husband on this one.

HOWEVER, I recently had a conversation with a group of women that changed my perspective and left me feeling a lot more merciful towards my husband.

After discussing my birthday disappointments, we talked about what their various husbands did, or did not do, on their birthdays, anniversaries, and even marriage proposals. And I gotta tell you, it left me feeling pretty sorry for men. It must be really, really hard to please a woman. . .and the kicker is that every woman is so different.

For example, some women desperately want to be surprised (me) and some women HATE surprises. They hate not being in control of the situation. One woman told a story about a friend whose husband had planned a surprise trip--he had taken care of the babysitting, packed her bags, and not even told her what was going on until they got to the airport--and she was really mad that he hadn't packed her any makeup or very cute clothes. SERIOUSLY?!!

Also, some women think it's incredibly unromantic to receive household appliances for their birthday, while other women wouldn't want anything as impractical as flowers and/or jewelry. Some women are so mad if their husbands don't spend money and buy gifts, whereas other women would be so angry about their husbands spending too much money.

We want romance, but then we want to complain about the restaurant, the hotel, the gift, whatever it was that he picked out without OUR input. How can a poor guy ever get it right?

It seems so unromantic to ASK for exactly what we want. I mean, if you've been married for more than 5 years you start to think your man should just KNOW his woman by now. . .but yet, it seemed a pretty common theme to be disappointed by our husband's gestures.

So, I am trying to figure this all out. There are certain things that just don't come naturally to my husband, and I can't keep faulting him for that. I'm going to have to be okay with telling him what I want, and him doing exactly what I asked for (with no "romantic" variations.) For example, I often tell my husband that when I'm feeling insecure I just want him to hug me and say something reassuring. So, right after I said that, he hugged me and said, "something reassuring." :P

I love my man, there are some areas where he is a freakin' husband superstar that could teach classes to other men. And then there are some areas where he's not so awesome. But, I guarantee the same could be said of me as a wife.

So, after talking to a bunch of other women, and realizing how incredibly hard we are to please, I must plead with all of you--if your man does anything that remotely resembles a romantic gesture, PRAISE him like he just cured cancer. If they need to be taught and trained a bit about your particular preferences, do it delicately, lovingly, and preferably not DURING the event in question.

What is romance anyway? Why can't I be content with a husband who makes breakfast for my kids every Saturday morning and then CLEANS IT UP while I stay in bed? Or who takes the kids--without ever complaining--while I go shopping, go to yoga, go out with girlfriends, etc. Wouldn't I rather have every day kindness than grand gestures once a year? Nope, I'm a woman, I want both! It must be hard work being married to a woman. So go give your man a squeeze and tell him thank you for putting up with your womanness. :)

09-09-09

It doesn't seem like that long ago that it was 9-9-99 and I was turning 21. That birthday was a lot more exciting. I went out dancing to a good 21+ dance club and really celebrated (wait, despite the way that sounded, I did NOT celebrate by taking advantage of my legal drinking status.) Dancing was enough of a "high" for me. There is a part of me that really wishes I could go out dancing to celebrate this birthday, too. But, then I'd be one of those sad "old" ladies at the dance club trying desperately to cling to youth.

So, today I'm 31. Not nearly as cool as 21, not nearly as traumatizing as 30, and so despite the fact that today is 09-09-09, a super cool date, a birthday that I used to think about as a kid, I'm doing a whole lot of nothing.

I guess I can't complain too much, because my family celebrated by making me a steak dinner last Saturday. Then, on Monday, Mike took the kids for several hours while I went shopping. We were given some Nordstrom gift cards a few months ago, and I have been saving them specifically for buying myself a birthday present. I went to the Nordstrom rack (to maximize my return) and came home with a few outfits, and these beautiful babies:

Nothing says, "I'm 31 and fabulous" like gold slingback wedges! Then, on Monday night Michael and I went on a date. We decided to try something new, which turned out not to be the best idea for a birthday dinner.

We went to the new Zupas in AF. (The shadows on our faces are a little weird in this pic, but we were just trying to capture the occasion.) Here's my review of Zupas--Soups B+, Salads and Sandwiches, C-. But, I don't care where I eat as long as I get the chance to dress up, have my husband dress up, and go out without kids. (Oh wait, that's not true, I'd be seriously upset if I had to eat at McDonald's for my birthday. )

Here's a close-up of my cute husband with his "old lady." Yes, I'm older than my husband and I just have to be okay with it. But, there's no denying that the years (and babies) are starting to show on my face (and on my boobs! ;) Oh well, the great thing about being 31 is that I now know how to use make-up and fashion to both minimize and maximize--if ya know what I mean!

I don't mean to be ungrateful, because I love my husband very much. He is so great about being kind and thoughtful daily. He always helps and never complains. But, special occasions are not his forte. I think since he went out on a date with me on Monday he thinks he's covered. But, am I so selfish for wanting to make the day of my birthday a little bit special? I mean, 09-09-09 seems like such an interesting day, it seems like something awesome should happen. Well, it's 2pm, and I'm not exactly holding my breath.

My little sister is coming over to make me a birthday dinner, and her food is definitely awesome. But, I'm still feeling a little sad that this ONCE IN A MILLENIUM day, is going to go out with more of a whimper than a bang. Oh well, Happy birthday to me! At least I have facebook to help get me a little attention! :)

Once in a lifetime

So, I know that the first day of Kindergarten and/or school is sort of the blog post du jour right now. And while the topic may not be that interesting to most of you (because your kid going to Kindergarten wasn't really that interesting for me), I just have to say that this time it's just not about you! :P This is about documenting the little moments that are a really big deal to a precious little 5 year old. This is his first day of "real school", and that only happens once!

Absolutely no tears and no fears for the Kindergartener or his mother! He has been anxiously awaiting (to the point of driving me crazy) starting school, especially this past week because he had to stay home for the first week while most of his friends already started. (Sadistic school district messing with kindergarteners, anyway.)

Mrs. Barlow, is an intern this year, so she was probably more nervous than Gavin. I told him that she's bound to be cool because she is a red-head like me. (To which he replied, "your hair is yellow right now Mom." No, it's highlighted yellow, but still red. I mean, come on, what Kindergartener can't understand the nuances of hair color and highlights. Guess he'll be in Resource Styling this year. ;)

Okay, it wasn't the TOTAL truth when I said I had no fears. The only anxiety I felt was when school let out, because the neighbor boys were supposed to pick him up and walk home with him. I just kept picturing my son being the only Kindergartener left behind on the first day of school. BUT, he wasn't. They found him and delivered him, not only in one piece, but with a great big smile and an orange Costco donated backpack that now matches the entire student body!

Fire & Ice Cream

Nick turned 3 on Sunday, and we had a firefigher themed birthday. Yes, Nick is supposed to be the star of this show, but his cake was pretty awesome, and I think Nick's Daddy is a superstar for the creation he pulled off! I think Mike even surprised himself with this creation. I was amazed by his vision and his execution of this thing--fire truck cake complete with house on fire, and firefighters. My brain doesn't even work like that!

We took about 10 pictures of this cake, but I totally forgot to take pictures of Nick actually blowing out the candles. Oops. (I think we got it on video, maybe.)

Nick also got a little tent shaped like a fire truck.

Also, for the birthday we took a trip to the fire station last week. Nick and several of his friends got a tour of the Orem fire station. Here are the highlights:

It was great, free entertainment for a bunch of little boys. The highlight of the trip of course was when they turned on the lights and sirens of the fire truck. It might have been a budget birthday--but, Nick was thrilled!

I've got nothin'

I don't really have anything terribly interesting to write. In fact, I debated about even posting anything, because I don't really have much to say. My summer has not been constant excitement, adventures, or travels like some people I know (big sis). It has been good. I've got no complaints. But, I do have a few dilemmas. Right now my children's nap schedules are not coordinating very well. I've got a baby who wants to sleep from 11:30-1:30, then a 3-year old who wants to (not really wants to, but you know what I mean) sleep from 1:30-4:00pm, and then the baby needs to go down again by 4:30 or 5. So that makes me stuck home for a good part of the day! I've been working on trying to hold the baby off until 12:30, so that the naps overlap better--but, let's be honest, I am a slave to baby's schedule.

My other dilemma is that I will not take all 3 of my kids to the swimming pool by myself. My boys are NOT what you might call "fish." They are still afraid of the water, they don't even like to get their faces wet. Gavin (my 5 year old is getting better), but Nick still pretty much wants to cling to me for dear life the entire time, which makes it hard for me to simultaneously hold Ruby who wants to leap out of my arms. Needless to say, I have only been to the pool twice this summer, and only able to do that with the help of my very patient, helpful Mom.

I had a couple days this past week when I had really hurt my neck and back and I was a pitiful, lump of a mother. So, I didn't want to do anything or go anywhere. There was just no way I could lug around my little 20lb Fatso in her 8lb car seat. So, we were stuck home. My children resorted to this:

As per my last post, we have enjoyed the mountains quite a bit this summer. We go jeeping up AF canyon as often as we possibly can. (Sunday afternoons are usually free.) It is so therapeutic! It is beautiful, our kids enjoy it, the sound of the river is one of my favorite sounds, it is much less work than hiking, and it's relatively cheap entertainment (besides the gas for his 1980 fuel-inefficient engine). Last year I couldn't enjoy it completely because I was way to pregnant and it sent me into miserable contractions. So, this year has been fabulous! Maybe next year we can do Moab or Zion's and that'll be a worthy blog post.
Here are random pictures of our little, relatively uneventful, beautiful life.

The usual-hanging out watching TV.

She's trying to be on her feet as often as possible.

The boys working on the jeep, getting ready for a mountain excursion.

All of us hanging out by our new favorite picnic spot up past Silver Lake.

I called this post "I've got nothin'" because I've got nothin' terribly interesting or insightful to post about--but, truly, I've got everything I need.