Flip Flopping

Last week we had a flip flop invasion. I found some SUPER cute flip flops at the dollar store, and got TWO pair, because, who can beat two pairs of flip flops for $2?

Once I had my pairs of flip flops, Cam insisted HE wanted some. I was taken back, because we HAVE tried flip flops on the boy in the past, and he just doesn't get them, or like having the strap between his toes. But he INSISTED, and I relented.

We bought him some cheap pairs from the store that I love, and proceeded to teach him how to walk with these flip flops.

The first time he put them on, I was napping and Steve had to help him. I awoke to Steve's laughter. Cameron was just a *tad* uncomfortable in them. Not only were his toes spread far apart, but his fingers were spread out, down by his side and he wouldn't bend his knees.

After a little training from mom, who had to walk around for a while for him, he has learned, but he's also now complaining of the soreness between his toes.

Such is life, right?

The funny thing about our whole flip flop adventure, Grandma still insists on calling them "thongs." Thankfully, we aren't wearing THOSE kinds of things on our feet.

Getting Demanding in Our Old Age...

Lately, Jake's vocabulary has taken off. He is almost always speaking in full sentences, and for the most part, we know what he's talking about. (He does still babble quite a bit, but it is usually when he's in a playful and goofy mood.)

Anyway, he's learned that a few choice phrases will get him more attention than others. For example:

"Mom, I c'ied." (Mom, I cried.) Usually, this is followed by him in my arms, giving me "squeezies." (Squeezies are what Grandma has dubbed hugs...we LOVE the term, and Jake gives out squeezies very rarely, we take them when we can.) This phrase is also usually followed by Cameron saying, "Sorry, Jake!" Yeah, brothers are TONS of fun.

"Mom, hold me!" Again, this is one where you take care of it when you can, because he's SUCH a tough guy, he usually doesn't need to be held.

He's just a funny kid. He also insists on fixing his "flat tires" on his truck (the tires are plastic, so they're never REALLY flat, but he thinks it's fun to fix them.)

And he's VERY helpful. During scripture reading, he gives me my "sc'iptures" and insists on using his own.

Overall, the language thing is HUGE! He talks VERY well, and if you don't understand him the first 3 times he says something, he'll just smile at you and go on with his busy life.

How To Entertain Your Two and Nearly Ten Year Old Children

I spent the day with a good friend today. I introduced her to the best ice cream EVER (which I was surprised they don't already have in Las Vegas). Talked with her for HOURS about what kinds of things I can do to help out my sweet Cameron (she's an AMAZING special ed teacher....like, I wish she was OUR teacher, that's how amazing she is!) Getting all sorts of ideas from the kinds of books and programs to try (Bob books...we're going to find you!) and discussing the fun things that she does with her preschool kids. (Ocean-scenes and counting with goldfish crackers....Jake is ready for YOU!)

Then as we were finishing up our visit, she asked about dollar stores. I pointed her to one of my favorites, and OH MY GOODNESS, it was a good thing that it was payday today.

I found some super cute mini-lanterns that BOTH of my boys are loving. I also grabbed them some little plastic trucks (they're open, but sitting on the couch...) and my favorite things: GIANT bowls (for salads) flip flops (can't beat $1), and pens, envelopes and a new egg slicer. My boys are enthralled by the stuff I got. Cam's bummed that I didn't get him some flip flops (didn't know his size, and he was at the Learning Center, so I couldn't just measure his feet...) but the boys are happy and well entertained for VERY cheap!

I love dollar stores! :)

Family Reunion Highlights

SO much fun packed into too few days. I love spending time with my aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, parents....EVERYONE! Now that it's over, and we're back to the "usual" I'm having a bit of a hang-over....I need a break from my fun break. We are a goofy bunch, but we know how to have a good time. Laughing, food, stories....

What a great family I have!

Too Pooped to Poop

Late nights for a week (or more) will do THIS to your child....

Don't say I didn't warn you.

More Kid Funnies

My family reunion is starting up. I'm SO excited. I absolutely LOVE hanging out with my cousins and their kids...it's just so fun.

Anyway, last night we had our "pre-family reunion activity." We hung a sheet in my grandpa's backyard, and watched a movie. It really was fun, but a little rough on kids who are early to bed, early to rise...

My cousin's son, Jakeb, has adopted me and Steve. He's super cute, and very much a little 3 year old boy. Last night he kept pointing to me and telling his mom, "I like her!" (How could I pass this little guy by?) So when he begged to sit on my lap, I had to let him....just had to, I was wrapped around his chubby little fingers.

While we were watching the movie, he began rubbing my boob. Then he announced, "You have BOOBS!"

"Yes, I do..."

(Giggling on the inside...)

And one more....I can't resist these funny kids that I live around.

I walked Cameron to his therapy yesterday, which means the boys had to walk too. Cam didn't have a bit of a problem, he's a good kid. Jake, however, isn't used to the long walks. He kept standing in front of me saying, "Cay-ye me! Cay-ye me!" (In case you don't speak toddler, that's "carry me.")

I told him that he was a big boy, and look, Cameron is walking...you can walk too. He agreed, and would walk along, until he got tired again.

Eventually we made it to the building, and we dropped him off. Cameron's getting to that age where mom telling him that she loves him and will miss him is SOOOOOOO embarrassing, so he usually takes off pretty quickly.

After we'd been abandoned, I took Jake out the door, and began our short walk home. He looked around for a bit, and began to crumble, literally, on the sidewalk. "CAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMEROOOOOOONNN!N!!!!"

I lifted him, not wanting him to hurt himself, and said, "He's at therapy, we need to go home. Don't worry, we'll come back for him..." Jake's wails were picking up speed.

Then I got an idea.

"Jake, do you want to go home and watch a movie?"

"NO!"

"You mean, you don't want any popcorn?"

"Co-corn??" There were no complaints for the rest of the walk home, in fact, he was almost dragging ME home.

Pictures, At LAST!

Sacramento Temple: Marquel and Ryan's Wedding:

Marquel and Ryan's Reception:

Fun, FUN times!! :)

"I Stung"

While we were waiting for my cousin's wedding to start on Saturday, a rather large bee (or hornet, I'm not quite sure what it was) was flying around my mom. I pointed it out, and immediately Cameron began freaking out. We told him that as long as he was calm and ignored the bee that he would be fine. He slowly watched it circle around us, as it was looking for a place to land.

Eventually, it landed on Jake's cheek, right below his eye. I watched in slow-motion, as Jake reached up and grabbed the bee. He quickly (still in slow-motion though) pulled his hand back and stuck his fingers in his mouth. He'd been stung.

He didn't cry, he didn't fuss, he just held out his finger for my inspection. I saw that the WHOLE stinger had been left behind, and I quickly pulled it out. His finger went right back to his mouth where he quietly sucked on it.

I picked him up and just for the briefest second, he looked like he was about to cry, but he changed his mind.

He didn't even talk about it, until this morning.

He was drawing scribbles on his magnadoodle, and pointed out the things he was "drawing." On one such "drawing," he said, "Mom, I stung." Then he pointed to the picture. There was no crying about it, just the simple statement, "Mom, I stung."

How did I end up with SUCH a tough kid?

SacTown and Me

I just returned from a fun-filled trip to Sacramento with my family. Unfortunately Steve had to work, so he couldn't go (I missed him SO much, so did the boys!) I rode with my parents and brothers in their RV. I tend to get car sick, so on the long ride there and back I took some Dramamine. Good thing it was the non-drowsy stuff...I slept a LOT!

The drive there was good, although, I got tired of watching my brothers playing a video game that is a LOT like Monopoly, long and boring, all the way through Nevada....BOTH ways. I did manage to get them to agree to watch movies a few times, which helped keep my little boys from going insane.

I was a little bummed that we came through Donner's pass at night, it smelled great, but I didn't see much. Thankfully, on the way back, I got to see how truly beautiful the Sierra Nevada mountains are. SO pretty, with such WINDY roads. Windy to the extent of nauseating....Jake puked, but only on the windy roads in the mountains.

When we finally got to my uncle's trailer park (we were going to park the RV in an RV storage area in his trailer park...) it was WAY late, and we were all exhausted. We chatted with my cousins, who were THRILLED to see us in their hometown instead of visiting US. That night, I crashed, but only so far....I had to share the one extra bed in the RV with Cameron AND Jake...let's just summarize by saying that there was much kicking and crying.

The next day my cousin, Jara, took us on a tour of the town. We went to the grocery store that my uncle and cousins work at, because the boarder guys confiscated our cherries. :( We needed more fruit. We also learned why it's not such a good idea to go shopping on an empty stomach....we bought a LOT of food. A LOT!! Then we went to see the Sacramento Temple. SO pretty, but I was dying in the heat. I immediately found a shaded area, and then we walked around a bit. It reminded me a LOT of the Snowflake Arizona temple. There were even a few lizards running around. After the temple, we went to have a picnic by the Sacramento River. The picnic was great, the walk to the river, exhausting. I now know why I do not like the heat. It wears me out and I do NOTHING! It was pretty bad. The boys played in the river for a bit, then we decided to get swimming suits for those of us who didn't pack them, and swim in a REAL pool. After visiting several stores, we were set, and went back to the trailer park to swim in the community pool.

Jake loved the water, did not want to get out...at all, and thought he could swim. Cameron stuck to the shallow end, the wall, or grabbed onto someone he knew wouldn't throw him into the deep water. After cooling off, we headed back to the RV to nap. Then we ate dinner and decided to get some free frozen yogurt at Pinkberry. The line was LONG, but we entertained ourselves. Plus, the staff brought out itty bitty cups of free samples. We each got our cups and ate them quickly, then we went back...for sleep. By the time we got back, it was nearly midnight.

The next day we KNEW we had to try In and Out....SO SO SO good. After most of us were finished eating, I noticed Cam hadn't TOUCHED his burger. That's not like him, he LOVES burgers, but he didn't even take a bite. He said he wasn't hungry, and we gave him the same lecture we usually give him, "If you're hungry later, don't bother asking us for more food, you have lunch, and if you are really hungry, you'll eat now...." Soon after that, while we were talking, Cam got sick....ALL over the ground. I pointed him toward a bush that ended up getting a taste of Cam's breakfast. My cousin, Michael Kyle, was FASCINATED by the barf, he kept analyzing it. There was a table of missionaries (3 sets, so 6 missionaries) and they were totally grossed out. Soon after Cam's incident, we left. We went back to the trailer park to rest and swim (but when we realized how soon we'd have to leave for the wedding rehearsal, we decided not to swim). Right as we were getting ready to get into cars to leave, Cam got sick again. My dad, a SAINT, volunteered to stay and take care of Cameron while we left. I am so glad he did that for me. Cam was sick a few more times that night....poor kid.

We rode with my cousins to down town Sacramento, and to the park for the wedding practice. We were warm, but it wasn't TOO bad in the shade. Then we went out to eat at Golden Corral. I had only ever been to one a long time ago, and was NOT that impressed....I sit here, a changed woman. I was very impressed and happy with the food and the results. I also got to meet up with my cousin, Lance, who I haven't seen for YEARS. I kept trying to talk to his youngest daughter, but she kept giving me a look that said, "Who are you? Why are you talking to me? I don't KNOW you!" Eventually she warmed up to me, but his other kids were very open and talkative the whole time. After dinner, I rode with Jara and my brother and Jake. We went to Jara's house for something, then we stopped to get some Gatorade for Cameron. I wanted to get some Otter-pops too, but they were out. Then we went back to Jara's house to meet her roommate. We finally got back to the trailer park around midnight. Yet another late night for Jake.

Saturday dawned bright and HOT! We went swimming, enjoying the cool pool, but by the time we walked back to the RV, we were hot and sweating again. I cleaned up the boys, then myself, ate lunch, and waited to go to the wedding.

At first we weren't going to take the RV, but then we were, then they changed their minds 3 or 4 times. Finally, we were going, IN the RV. My dad was going to drop us off by the reception center, and find a parking spot. We couldn't open the RV's door. It was stuck. We had my brother open the door for us (he rode with Uncle Mike, so he wasn't in the RV with the rest of us.) After walking the dogs around, and trying to open the hard-to-open-door, my dad gave up. Before the wedding started my parents called a lock smith to help them open the door. The wedding was beautiful, hot and sweltering, but nice. I sat close to the front, so I heard everything, but they didn't talk loud enough for everyone else to hear. After the wedding, my dad went to meet up with the lock smith, while the rest of us talked and went to the reception center. It was MUCH cooler there, plus there was food. After an hour or so, my dad and brother came back from the RV. The door was completely broken, and needed a total overhaul, so they broke the latch on the window and hoisted someone in to open the door from the inside. The reception was fun, but began to get warm. We left late, and tried to follow the directions given to us to get back to the trailer park. We missed our turn-off and ended up on the freeway to Los Angeles. My brother has GPS on his cell phone, and using that, we got back. As we were about to get off the interstate, there was a loud bang and clang. The side-mirror fell off the RV. To say that my dad was in a good mood would be a HUGE lie, to say that he was mildly grumpy would be better, but to say he was tired, and ready to be done would be completely accurate. We parked in the RV storage, in a different spot, not one meant to be parked in, but we didn't care, it was late, and we were all done.

My younger brother, who had been sleeping at the newlywed's home, decided to not stay there on their wedding night, so he slept on the floor of the RV. Early (or late) he began to be sick. Thankfully, he was VERY quiet, and I didn't get TOO grossed out. He continued to be sick the rest of the night and all through the day yesterday. Right before we were leaving, my dad, the driver, got sick as well. Thankfully, he controlled it and was fine for the rest of the trip. I know he was nauseous, but he managed to survive.

On the way home, we again watched movies and the same boring video game for HOURS and HOURS! It was a very long drive, but we made it home, safely and soundly.

I had such a blast, especially seeing my cousins and uncle and aunt (who I haven't seen since I was 15 or 16). I will miss them for our big family reunion this week.....but that also means I have MORE family to see and talk to soon!

As a side note: I DID take a LOT of pictures, but they're all on my mom's camera, and her memory card is an HD card, so I will get the pictures when I can.

Do You Want a Good Giggle??

In the last week, I've heard a few things that have made me giggle uncontrollably.

One day, when I was getting Jake into Steve's car to go somewhere, Jake grabbed Steve's cowboy hat, and put it on his head. He looked at me and said, "Mom, I a cowboy! MOO!!!"

I asked him if that's what cowboys said, and he assured me that it was.

Then the other day I was watching one of my favorite movies, Hocus Pocus. There's one point where the witches in the movie unearth a dead boyfriend. This zombie chases around the heroic kids, and they knock his head off. My younger brother (who I swear has young Alzheimer's, or has just fried one too many brain cells) began commenting to my mom and I about zombies.

He said, "If that was a REAL zombie, it would be dead. Because you kill zombies by taking their heads off."

My mom and I were speechless. We looked at one another and busted up laughing. I said, "Shad, you DO know zombies aren't real, right?"

Then he took off talking about zombies and the best ways to kill them.

What A Weekend: Presented in Pictures

Parade, held July 3rd (coldest I can remember in YEARS!!): (Pre-parade show...classic cars, one broke down RIGHT by us....got towed off by a 4-wheeler.)

Walking through the Field of Flags, July 4th:

(When I took this picture, Jake was chanting, "'Merica! 'Merica!!")

What a wonderful weekend of remembering and honoring those who have suffered so that we might have what we enjoy.