Happy 4th of July!

Our first 4th here in Arkansas. We spent the day with our friends from Colorado. They moved out here about 7 months before us so it is nice to have some friends to hang out with. We had a fab bbq at their house and then headed down to Little Rock to watch the fireworks. We got to sit on the balcony at Catherine's work and watch... perfect place, no crowds, no traffic and a birds eye view. We quickly learned that Myles isn't a big fan of explosions in the sky. We drove back to their house for a little firework show of our own. We have always lived in places where it was illegal to have fireworks so this was a first for us. We had a great time. It was so nice to spend the day with friends. We are truly blessed to live in such a wonderful country. We are so grateful for all of our men and women defending our freedom.

Speaking of divine pie...

Fresh strawberry and rhubarb

Saturday In Tulsa

WARNING: I know these pictures are small

click on them to see them enlarged... it is worth it

(Jessie @RedRobin) Gavin and Grandpa

Try eating some lettuce with your Ranch

Jessie and David

This last Saturday we got to go to Tulsa and visit my nephew David, his wife Lauren and their two too cute kids Mikayla and Gavin. Dave is home on Emergency Leave from Afghanistan so we really wanted to get over there and visit with them. Really bad aunt confession: This is the first time I have seen either of his kids. They lived in Kentucky and we lived in Colorado and it just never worked out. But we were soooo excited to get there and meet them and by the time we left Myles and Kayla were the best of friends. Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Susan met us there and we had a little late birthday party for Jessie. We all went out to Red Robin for lunch and Jess got the Birthday Singing. It was a really fun day and I am so glad that we got to see them all. We are so proud of David and Lauren. We are so grateful for their sacrifices. They are just the sweetest little family. And we seriously loved their little ones. Mikayla is such a little girly girl. She is so smart and just the cutest little friend. The kids just loved playing with her. Gavin is just the sweetest. I think I heard him make two little squeaks but he never really cried. He is such a laid back little guy. It made those baby hungry feelings even stronger ;) Matt... Anyways, some pictures from our day. Also, we loved being around family. We didn't realize how much we miss everyone.

Silly Grandpa

Playing on the ham-ock

I think we are in trouble, damn the parent curse...

Just for fun I thought I would add these pictures...

kids grow up way too fast.

November 2004 June 2008

Just one more thing...

I am becoming a domestic goddess

Fresh Blackberry Pie

Just because we had a sweet tooth

Happy Birthday Jessie!

We LOVE you!

Meet Gizmo...

Our newest little family member. We brought him home on Saturday morning. He was well received by all. We decided to name him Gizmo because of the striking resemblance to a Gremlin. Actually he looks more like Mogwai but that translates as "Evil Spirit" in Cantonese. So Gizmo it is. I call him G. Myles calls him Elmo. He is a really smart dog and seems to enjoy the kids. Lexi even likes him. We sure like him.

I haven't posted any delights lately. Things have been crazy around here. I have been delighting. Here goes my next delight.

DELIGHT #5

My sweet baby Myles. I just love this boy. He makes my heart happy. I love his sweet little, first thing in the morning smile. I love his little voice. I think it's funny that he called me MoM, not mommy for the first 22 months of his life but since moving to the south he calls me Mamma with his newly developed southern accent. I love watching him conquer his fears. I love how much he loves his siblings. I love to watch him with his little friends. I think it's funny that he has a tattling voice. We can't understand what he is saying but we know exactly what happened. He calls ALL food lunch. I appreciate his love of hats. I love how much joy and laughter he has brought to our family. I love that Heavenly Father had a special plan for him and we were wise enough to listen. I think it's funny that we still call him a baby. When are we going to stop referring to him as the baby? I hope not too soon. I can't believe he is almost 2. I think its funny that he cleans up. I love the intensity of his feelings. Happy, sad, mad, he is so intense. I just love his eyes. The window to his soul. I love that he loves music and sings along to almost any song. I love the cute little things he says... like when at the store if he wants something he says "I buy this". I love when he sings "You love me" or the ABC's. I love that in every dinner prayer that Liam says he thanks Heavenly Father for sending us this beautiful baby boy. I couldn't agree more. I just love him.

FEAR

I have always had a fear of leaving the house dressed inappropriately (in pajamas or just something I would be embarrassed to be seen in public in) and having car problems. I see it happening in my head: Rush out the door to take the kids to school and I'm still wearing my pajamas because it has just been that kind of morning, in the middle of an intersection my car dies or runs out of gas or blows a tire and I have to get out and walk or push the car. It is just one of my fears. But I guess it could be worse. Getting your car stuck in some tall, wet grass, you have to get out and push and your naked...

Girls Camp 2008

Jessie left for Girls Camp this morning. She isn't quite 12 years old yet but the last bishop gave her the special "go ahead" to go. He actually told us he didn't know what the rules were but we would get forgiveness (instead of permission?) She was super, super excited. She only slept about 4 hours last night. So excited. I hope she has a wonderful experience. The girls are really sweet in our ward and have just taken her into the group. Myles was quite upset about the whole thing. He cried for her as we were leaving and kept looking at me and saying "mom, jess, mom, jess." What is he going to do without his Jess? Love ya Jess.

The school year is over. We made it through another one. This year was a hard one. I know it was so hard for my kids to make this move in the middle of the year. I am so proud of them. They are trying really hard to be good friends and adjust to life here. I know it hasn't been easy. James is going to be a Freshman. That is craziness. It wasn't that long ago that I was a Freshman... Wow. He is entering a whole other universe. Learners permits, high school sports, high school girls AAHHHH! Jess is going into Junior High. I fear for her. Junior High is rough terrain for girls. I just hope for her that we all can survive the changes in our future. Liam is super stoked to be out of 3rd grade. He made the Honor Roll. So maybe change was good for him after all. 4th grade is the last year of elementary school here. He is still so young. I am not ready to think of that yet. SO now begins summer VACA. We went to the library and once again I was horribly disappointed by our city library. I went to the "librarian" (I question that she is actually a librarian, she may just be a really mean girl that they hired to work at the desk.) I asked her if they had any suggested reading lists for young adults. She gave me a look that I am pretty sure meant "go to hell lady" and said "NO". No suggested reading lists. This is a library right? So I asked her if she had any personal recommendations. Again with the HELL look. "No". Oh, thanks. "Do you have any new books?" I asked because I can play this game. She shot me another "Why are you bothering me look" and said in the meanest, most hateful tone "the new books are on the shelves." and turned and walked away. Oh those shelves out there? With the books on them? Stupid ME?? Sorry for bothering you. So there I stood trying to find a book for a 14-year-old to read. Who by the way is sentenced to reading for an hour everyday this summer and when questioned what genre of book he prefers he chose I SPY. Anyways, I found a book for him. Not too long, big words with no pictures but if anyone has some suggestions we are open to them. So my next destination is the children's section to sign the younger crew up for the summer reading. Get this... I know we came from a city with wonderful, wonderful summer programs but seriously? We filled out their names and the library employee gave us a reading log. This is the serious part... My kids always go for the biggest prize. In order to receive the biggest summer reading program prize (and really summer reading programs are all about the incentive) which is a bug catcher they have to have their reading logs filled out, finished and returned by June 28. Not a typo. 21 days. To read 100 books. Did I forget to mention that part. 100 books at their reading level. In 21 days. We are in works to develop our own incentive. Needless to say we miss our library. We miss City Park Pool. We have our own pool and slide. Not quite the same. It's summer time... Whoo Hooo.



Just a side note. We are getting Gizmo the dog next month. We thought that last post was funny. Watch for future posts introducing him. Only one person didn't watch the video and sent me a super funny, super excited email about me being prego. It was kinda sad to have to email her back and tell her that it was a dog but on the upside I don't have morning sickness :)

IT'S A BOY!

We knew that we always wanted another one. We just didn't know it be so soon. Is the time right? I am not sure. Can we handle this? Don't we have enough on our plate? How is Myles going to respond? The kids are all really excited. We are all excited. Now the name talk begins. I am voting for Sawyer (especially after last night's LOST). Wish us luck. I think we are gonna need it...

Memorial Day Weekend

Rockin at the hop

Jessie's class music program this year was Rockin at the Hop. They did such an awesome job. They all had costumes and the songs were so good. They served us ice cold Coca-Cola and ice cream sundays. It was a great performance.

Leave it to Liam to pretend to be druck off the Coke...

HoW SwEeT iT iS tO Be LoVeD By YoU

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary. I can't believe it has been ten years already. I really love and appreciate Matt more now than ever. We have had some really bad times and some pretty damn good times too. I love that he married me knowing that it would not always be simple, that it was unlikely to be a walk in the park. I love it that of all the thousands of ways it could have turned out, my life turned to him. Everything our marriage has brought us-- the good times, the hard times, all the fun, the babies, the struggles, the changes, the complicatedness of US. I love you Matt...

Real Love takes more than flowers,

Real Love means more than beautiful words.

Real Love means keeping promises...

holding on when you don't want to,

being strong so that others may rest.

And as time and change swirl around us,

the love we share stands quietly in the midst of our lives.
Forever beautiful, forever Real.

There is no one I'd rather share my life with than you.

DeLiGht #4

I love his laugh. I love that he makes us laugh. I think he is so cute in his glasses. I think it’s funny that he is a democrat. I think it’s so sweet how much he loves his baby brother. I love his love notes and cards he makes for me. I really love our Thursday lunch date. I love it when he says “This is the best day of my life” and I never want him to lose that. I think it’s funny that he is so much like his dad. I admire how much he loves animals and people. I love how tender hearted he is. I admire how forgiving he is. I think its fun to watch him perform. I am amazed at his ability to remember song lyrics. I love the funny things Liam says. I am amazed at how fearless he has always been and how he loves ANYTHING scary (rides, stories, movies). I appreciate how he always wants to spend family time. I realized what I love most about Liam is how much he loves. Everyone and Everything. He loves with his whole heart and his whole soul. He loves freely and is never afraid to show it. Man, I love this boy.

A weekend of Firsts

First time camping in our RV. First time camping in Arkansas. First time Myles has ever been camping.

We had a quick little camping trip this weekend. A good time was had by all. It included great scenery, good food and awesome ghost stories. We are looking forward to doing this a lot more often...

You Love Me

Myles isn't a big talker but the boy loves to sing. Last night as we were getting him to bed he kept saying "you love me". His new fav song. Also his first three word combination.

Ignore my fab singing and the video is dark because it was dark... bedtime... In order to really hear it you have to pause the music at the bottom of the page.