Boys and their toys

Rollie Pollies seemed to be the theme around here earlier in the week. I hate spiders with every part of me, but rollie pollies haven't bothered me. So, I was only slightly grossed out by my boys when they had their hands covered in them as they hunted them down. We made "houses" for them, and searched for hours to fill those houses. We found all their hiding places and learned it was easier to find them after the sprinklers had gone off. They probably each ended up with 30 or so.

The theme soon moved onto snakes. I like snakes about as much as I like spiders. (It's kind of a long story, but stick with me). There are a lot of orchards around here, and snakes make their way into most people's yards. Apparently we are in that season now. My mom's yard seems to really attract snakes. She flipped out when she spotted one and immediately started offering reward money for anyone who could kill it. Koby was on a mission. He tried for a while one day and was never quite brave enough (yet). Uncle Tim (my brother) ended up killing it later that day. But, wait, the snake Tim killed was smaller than the one Koby was hunting. You know what that means - yep, mom has snakes in her yard now, not a snake. The next day, Koby spotted a snake as he walked out the front door. His bravery kicked in and he stomped on that sucker. Then he grabbed a big heavy stick and started wacking it. He tried to hold it down while my dad grabbed a shovel to finish it off, but the snake got away. Meanwhile, Grandma had already paid him the $5 promised. A few hours later Papa spotted a snake with a missing tail and finally killed it. He chopped it in half with a shovel and threw it away.
The next day the boys were playing at a friend's house by my mom's. When I went to pick them up, they were roaming the neighborhood and grossing out all the neighbor kids with something. Koby walked towards me and reached into his pocket. He pulled proudly pulled out the snake head that he had helped kill. Yes, bare hands, pockets, and proud as can be. Spencer had the rest of the body that he was playing with and eventually crammed it into some crack that we couldn't retrieve it from. I made Koby put the snake in a zip-loc bag and throw it away. That darn snake has been thrown away and retrieved from the trash can 3 times now. Every time I turned around, it was back to haunt me. Koby just had to fish it out and show it off to cousins, uncles, etc. Yesterday, grandma threw it in a neighbors trash can (unkown to the boys), so I think we are finally done with that thing.
Can't wait to see what other surprises are in store for me with these boys!PS - My dad later killed a third snake in their yard - and had the guts squirt in his face! Are you officially grossed out now?

Todd and Alexis

My little bro Todd married Alexis Watson on Saturday, May 16th in the Draper temple. We love Alexis and are so happy to have her in our family now - whether she likes it or not! They did things a little differently and had their reception Friday night and were married Saturday morning. It actually made things less hectic for each day. My boys are like most - weddings are not their thing. Any event involving church clothes and sitting still for pictures is a nightmare for all of us. The reception was okay for them because it was a party and they had food and swings and a playhouse in the yard. I promise they looked cute at one point with their ties on and shirts tucked in, but the second the professional pics were over and the reception had actually started, that was it. I didn't even get a chance to pull them aside and get my own pics. But, it was a great time. I mentioned before that Alexis lived just two doors down from us growing up. So, it was fun to see a lot of people from the neighborhood that I haven't seen in so long.

I took a lot of pictures, so that means you get to enjoy them. Brandon made fun of us because we took pictures in just about every combination of people while waiting outside the temple for the bride and groom to be ready (I will spare you from seeing all of them).
Alexis' new mother and sister-in-law!

Koby and Spencer at the food table - that's my boys!
My cute nephew Hudson found a dirt pile!
Cousins Austin and Koby...
Cousins Clay and Hudson were so cute on the swing ALL night...
The swings were popular - here is Spence...My cute G and G who came from Cali - have I mentioned how much I love them?
Brandon and me...
The waiting game outside the temple...
These three cute cousins were all born within a month of each other two years ago. It has been so much fun ever since we were pregnant together.
Another fun threesome...
Sliding down the rails...
Still waiting...
Grandma with all the granddaughters that were there (not even half of us)...
Shelbie, Me, Kim and Cara (can you guess which one married into the family?) Love you, Shel!
An attempt at a halfway decent picture of my family in front of the temple...
Yay! The beautiful couple of the day...
Yes, this post is about Todd and Alexis, even though there are almost no pictures of them!
Congratulations to you!

Life goes on

I remember when I first moved away from my home and I would talk on the phone to my mom or dad. Everything in the background was going on just like normal - there were soccer games to go to, family night was happening, friends stopping over, performances and recitals - nothing was different. But, in my world, everything was different. I don't know why, but for some reason this shocked me. Not that I thought life should stop and everyone should mourn my being gone, but I had just never thought about it before. I think I even mentioned something to my dad about it, who assured me that life was NOT the same.
This got a little bit easier, but not much. I mostly just got used to it. Now, we are back here in Utah and have left Brandon's family back in Colorado. Life continues to go on. But, this time I have a super creative and genius mother-in-law who I love. She made this cute book for us to send back and forth to each other. We write notes, make drawings, and even tape pictures in it, then take turns mailing it to each other. (It would work better if I were faster at mailing it back to her) It is fun for us to see what each other is up to, and for us to get mail once in a while. I love Brandon's family and I loved living close to them for so long. We had such good times that we will always remember. How did I get so lucky to have such great in-laws?

Lowering the Bar

I could go on and on and on about the disgust I have with the interviews on Oprah, and other talk and morning shows with some wives and mothers. I have heard women say that their identity has been taken away, that they don't know who they are anymore. Why would I want to be the person I was before I got married and had children? I would like to think that I am a better person now, even though I don't get time to do some of the things I used to do, it is a good trade off.
Last week while running on the treadmill at the gym, I saw an interview with a woman on the Today Show. She wrote an essay in 2005 about being more in love with her husband than her children. She claimed to love them, but was not in love with them. She says she can imagine life after the death of one of her children, but not her husband. Anyway, it was very controversial and there was a lot of publicity about it. Now, she has a book written to create more controversy (her words). It is called Bad Mother. She describes a "June Cleaver" type mother and claims that she has NEVER existed. Of course, no perfect person, including a mother, has existed on this earth (with one obvious exception). But, I know plenty of worthy, able, supermoms that are amazing examples to me. This woman is giving mothers the right to lower the bar. "It is impossible to do it all and be perfect, so let's just not even try" is the message that I heard. I am sure she would argue that I misinterpreted it, but I definitely felt as though the bar was being lowered.
Like I said, I could go on and on, but I won't. I love being a mom and love the challenge it brings to better myself. A shout out to all the supermoms I know and love - and those who have it in them to be one day! Let's keep the bar raised, and our heads as well as we fight the battles ahead. Happy Mother's Day!

Motherhood Continues

I have been guilty of holding my newborn baby in the hospital and being incredibly sad as I thought about the day that he would leave my home and have a new life of his own.

But, if the relationship that I have with my mom right now says anything about my future with my children, then I no longer need to dread that day (as much). Being a mother doesn't end when your children get married or move out - it just changes. Of course I will always be grateful for the time my mom spent at home raising me and my five siblings. But, I continue to love her as a mom and friend. And she does take care of me still in many ways. What a great time we have together and what a blessing she is to me in my life. Happy Mother's Day!

Throwback Snack

I remember having this as a snack when I was younger. I think we called it bugs on a log. Lately, I've brought it back into my life and have been eating it for lunch most days. My kids think it looks disgusting, but I love it. Anyone else remember these? What other snacks have we forgotten about that are worth bringing back?