While your were out, dear hubs.

"You need to update the blog so I can see my kids when they're cute," says Justin. I guess he doesn't exactly see them at their best when he comes home from work during the breakdown hour (aka the hour before bedtime when we are all at our breaking point).  So here's what you missed while you were at work.

I love taking pictures of Sarah while she watches a show. I get the best expressions.

 I think she was watching Lion King.

 Or maybe Lady and the Tramp.

 "Why do you always call me your baby girl? I'm not a baby"  Someday she'll understand.

 Henry is watching for you to come home from work.

 Still watching.

 There you are!

One afternoon after Henry's nap, he was so ornery. Why do kids do that?  They are just mad and fussy as if they never had a nap and are cranky until bedtime.  Well this was that day and Henry would only stop crying and be content if this little hippo was singing and dancing.

Remember how you and I like to leave it playing for each other and run.  Like from across the room while you were watching some important football game on TV. Or stick it in the bathroom while I was in the shower.  It really just brings the holiday spirit all year long.

  

How 'bout the weather in September? I love when we can actually play outside without dying of the heat.

See this? Our kids can be cute while awake and in each other's presence.

They love each other. I wonder how long it will last.

I think only boys see an open dishwasher as yet another surface for playing cars.

You may not know this about me, dear, but I make the best couch cushion forts.  My mom was pretty patient with me since I would put it all back but I'm sure it got old.  So I decided to show off for our children.  They thought this was pretty cool and it was.

This was a couple of weeks ago and Sarah still asks when I'm going to vacuum under the cushions again. Not for awhile, if I'm being perfectly honest.

Rare moment when you and I are the only two people in the car. We are driving to Manti for our friend Dave's wedding.

Perhaps our readers know Dave. This is married Dave with new wife Jill.  Looking good, Mr. and Mrs. Walker.

Hey readers, this is Dave's Nana and Pops.  Pops was our sealer too because he's one of the best people we know and Justin and I fell in love whilst at their house in Ferron during a boating trip 7 years ago. Okay, maybe we weren't in love at that point but Ferron is a magical place.

 The boys.  Some of them anyway.

 You don't want to know what's going on back there.

 Henry really loved those hanging lantern ball things.

 

 Now you and Sarah have to dance at her wedding so I can compare/contrast the two photos.

Did I mention how much we love Nana and Pops? I've been grandparentless for 10 years so I've adopted them as my own.  I don't know if they know that.

What's great about them is that a year can go by without seeing them and they remember everything we told them about our lives the last time we visited.

And they're funny.

They are fountains of wisdom. Have you ever talked with someone and thought, I want to know everything you know?

 They ask questions and they listen.

There was another picture where I looked better but Nana's eyes were closed. I made a sacrifice here.

 I love this boy.

He loves cars.

 He just learned he loves Nutella.

So there you have it babe, your life in blog form. And let's not forget to finish Fletch tonight.  (Justin and I are watching movies from our childhood that we think we didn't get at the time and want to watch through adult eyes.) Although I have to admit, I think I've figured it out but I won't spoil it for you.

My most favoritest thing right now

is the way Henry says balloon.

 

Need a little more sweetness?

You're welcome.

It was my birthday.

I was just going to sign on here for a second to change my age on my profile since I am now 29. Then I thought while I'm here, I better share a bit about my birthday.

There are really just 3 things you need to know about my birthday.

1. Justin took the day off. This is a big deal since he usually doesn't get home until right before the kids go to bed. So I had my best bud with me all day long.

 

2. Justin surprised me with a new camera.  Now I just need to learn how to use it.

3. The cake was worth the 92-day wait.  Justin and Sarah made the inside and I finished the outside. 

I have more pictures of the cake if you're interested.  And no, there is none left.

This beautiful blue dutch oven gets an honorable mention.  I ordered it myself and used it a week before my birthday but I bought it with my birthday in mind.  Sometimes I want to hug it and it never leaves my stove top (I use it 2-3 times a week).



Labor Day Weekend

Well let's back up a moment here and share a picture of Henry in cowboy boots.

Sarah was really tired that afternoon since waking up at an unholy hour. She made herself a bed on the stairs and was out.

I should be embarrassed to show these following pictures but perhaps my blog will help someone out there dealing with GFS, Grimy Floor Syndrome.

So I have this linoleum floor that is only 5 years old. It has a dull finish and deep texture which means dirt gets nice and settled and won't come out. Perhaps you've noticed when you've come to my house but have been kind enough not to point. I've scrubbed the entire thing on my hands and knees with harsh cleaner and a bristle brush and it didn't look any better. Do you know how frustrating it is to mop and your floor still look like you need to mop? I told Justin I wanted a new floor. But I also want to finish the basement so to save money, I turned to the interwebs. I found this recipe for homemade floor cleaner and voila! Good as new.

There is hope, linoleum owners. (Seriously, so gross.) It took a couple of days to get used to a light, clean floor.

P.S. Does anyone know where I can buy washing soda?  I ordered some online because I couldn't find any at Walmart or Lowes.

 Last Saturday we went to the farm at Thanksgiving Point. 

Henry loved every second of it and would have climbed into the pens if we would have let him. Sarah liked it when she wasn't thinking about the animal smell.

This is what Henry said at every animal he saw.  They all make the same sound, apparently.

 

I love big horses.

My little cowgirl.

Sarah made this pillow house/bed/fort while I was in the shower.  She didn't want her picture taken.

Monday we went to Payson Lakes with my sister and her family. These two love fishing.

Henry and I like eating and visiting.

"I've got the fish food, Dad."

This little beauty came out of our garden. 

And this little cutie says "cheese" when I take his picture.  I didn't even ask him too.  He must have learned it from his sister.

Here's the video of it.  Sorry it keeps going blurry. My camera has seen better days.

What the Whales are Saying

Henry walks.

 

He took his first steps a month ago but it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that he actually tried walking on purpose. Before it just seemed to be this thing that randomly happened when he wasn't thinking about it or seemed convenient at the time but not something he was looking to develop.  And if we tried to get him to do it, he wouldn't cooperate but just sit down and whine. 

Then suddenly a switch went on and he figured out, hey I can use my feet to get around.  He's still in the "crawling is faster so I'll do that when I really want to go somewhere" stage but he's walking a little more each day.  He can stand unassisted and lower himself without a thud. He thinks he's pretty cool.

He has this new interest in shoes which is good because he has to start wearing them.

He got Justin's on all by himself.

What made it even sweeter is that he's looking at his daddy.

He wanted to wear Sarah's sweater. And I let him.

And he loves trying on Justin's hats.  I lost track of him for a few minutes the other day and found him in my room trying on 3 or 4 of Justin's hats.  He was so happy and quiet.

This is our cutie next door neighbor.  She loves him and tries to give him kisses.  Sometimes he likes it, sometimes he doesn't.

New skills: He can say mom and cheese, give kisses and hugs and put on Sarah's sparkly pink beaded necklace over his head but can't get it off. He's trying to feed himself with a fork and spoon.  He likes to scoop food up but he's not too good at it yet so I usually load his fork for him and he puts it in his mouth.  The learning of this skill is very tedious for me but I keep reminding myself how awesome it will be when I don't have to feed him oatmeal or cereal anymore.

And he can do the superman. He likes to lay down by me when we get to this exercise on my DVD. And sometimes he just likes to bust it out randomly.

He has a molar on every side coming in plus 2 on the bottom.  He is cranky pants, let me tell you. I think this is the only time he's smiled in the past week.  Well not really but it feels that way.

Watching Dad mow the lawn.

Oh Sarah.

Sarah starts preschool in October and ballet in a few weeks.  She's very excited about both.  I have mixed feelings about her growing up and having this separate life but she is ready and I know (hope) she'll like me more when she gets home each day.

Here she is practicing her numbers by counting trees in the canyon.

Fishing with dad. 

Can you tell she dressed herself and her magnet bear alike? She was pretty proud of herself and insisted on getting their picture taken together.  We sewed a sleeping bag and pillow for Honey (that's the bear's name) today.

This is her friend from down the street. He comes over to play a lot.  I think 99 percent of the time he has snuck out of his house because his visits always end with his mom or dad impatiently looking for him.  Here's what's funny.  He understands English very well but I've only heard him say a few English words.  Most of the time he talks in Spanish and he talks a lot.  But the funny part is, Sarah hasn't noticed.  They just play. There's a lesson here for all of us, I think.

New skills: She can go from PBS to playing a DVD all by herself (oops). She knows how to push a chair into the kitchen and climb up to where the cookies are. She can run her own bath but I still wash/condition her hair.  She also likes to blow-dry it by herself but gets bored before she's done.

Justin has been at his new job for several weeks now.  He leaves at 5:30 in the morning and gets back about 7:30 at night.  Lame.  This Kennecott project will last until Thanksgiving and then hopefully they'll put him on something not quite so time consuming.  And if they ever get their new office built in Saratoga Springs he'll drive less than 90 miles a day. Until then, I drown my loneliness in Internet shopping.

New skills: Getting up when his alarm goes off the first time, wearing long sleeves, vest and hard hat in the sun all day long, spotting for deer everywhere we go, reading for fun.

Speaking of me, I am nearing the end of my 90-day treat fast.  I don't know what I'll do once my birthday comes.  Well I know what I'm doing on my birthday--eating half a birthday cake.  But after that, I don't know.  I like not eating sugar.  My mood and energy level more constant through the day and I don't have any eating regrets when I lay down at night. Plus my clothes are looser. But it's no way to live forever. So I ask you, how do you eat sugar?  I'm good at all or nothing. I need a strategy for in between.

 

New skills: I turned tomatoes from my garden into pasta sauce. I just finished Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred and I am starting Ripped in 30 tomorrow. I am resorting to making my own floor cleaner because they don't sell stuff that works on my kitchen floor. I'll let you know which of my experiments works.  (Don't mix bleach and ammonia. I know, I know.) I also am looking for ideas of what to do with my kids every weekend in October while Justin is hunting every weekend in October.  And I, too, am reading just for fun. And I got stung by a wasp today.  Most of those weren't new skills.