Family Pictures

While Dave's family was in town, I took it upon myself to force, I mean encourage, getting an updated family picture. The one I have in my house of Dave's family is from about 8 years ago, and there have been alot of new additions to the family since then. Everyone was willing, so we met at the park before dinner one Sunday, and got a few shots.

All of Dave's family (his dad and Ida are on the left, his sisters and their families in the center, and his mom and her husband Jerry on the right):
Dave with his sisters, and his dad and Ida, and his mom and Jerry:
Dave and his sisters Laurie, Cyndi, and Kim:
Our family:
Dave and I:
Laurie and her husband Jeff and their kids Jacob and Sarah:
Cyndi and Mike:
Kim and Jace:
Cheryl and her husband Jerry:
Laurie with her daughter Sarah:
Laurie with both of her kids, Jacob and Sarah:
Collin getting a ride from his dad:
Sarah with her dad:
Me and my sisters-in-law Cyndi, Laurie, and Kim:
The cousins Collin, Brynn, Jacob, and Sarah:
Brynn
I love those curls!

March catch-up

Since March has officially come and gone, I guess it would be a good time to update what we spent the month doing. The month started off with lots of fun and family. Dave's sister Laurie and her family came for a visit. Dave's dad Ralph and his wife Ida came into town as well, so Dave's entire family was in town all at once. That is a rare treat, that only seems to get more and more rare as the family grows. We took advantage of every opportunity to see each other, and spent the 12 day visit having lots of family dinners, taking the kids to play together, and even getting some long overdue family pictures. Brynn and Collin's only cousins on Dave's side of the family are Laurie's kids, so we made sure to let them get together alot. They had so much fun with Jacob and Sarah, and talked about them non-stop after they returned home. One of the days they were here, we took the kids to a splash pad and let the kids run around in the water. Jacob was in heaven. My kids, on the other hand, were a little more hesitant. The water and weather wasn't quite what they're used to for playing in the water. It was funny to see the difference between the "Michigan kids" and the "Arizona kids". Jacob ended up soaked from head to toe, while Brynn and Collin were completely dry from the waist up.

Collin, Brynn, and Jacob take a break from the splash pad to have some gelato.

I love how Brynn is looking at Jacob in this picture. She had so much fun hanging out with Jacob and was so excited to have a friend/cousin with curly hair like hers.

Another day during their visit, we went to an indoor "amusement park". There were a few small rides, and lots of games. Brynn and Jacob had fun riding the mini roller coaster with their Grandma Cheryl. They all loved getting to run around and play. Here is part of the gang playing a water shooting game. (From front to back: Cyn, Brynn, Jacob, Collin, and Cheryl)

These little rides were a hit with the little ones. Collin especially loved pretending to ride this one.

Collin and Sarah

Another Brynn-ism

Not to be outdone, Brynn has been saying some really cute and funny things lately too. She has started to pick up some big words, but she doesn't always quite understand their meaning. One of her new favorite words is "familiar". She pointed to a truck the other day and said "Mommy, look at that familiar truck". I asked her what that meant, and she told me that it was all crunched up (dented, scratched, paint peeling, etc). A few days later, she wanted me to guess what "familiar thing" she was hiding behind her back. I asked her what familiar meant, and she told me that it meant "the surprise socks I had been asking her to get".

The other day, she and I were going through the morning ritual that consists of me brushing her hair, and her screaming and crying the entire 10 minutes. I asked her if she would like to get her hair cut, so that it would be faster for me to brush her hair. She answered, "That's freaking me out, 'cause Daddy won't know me if I have short hair. He won't recognize me."

Our conversation this morning while she was coloring (which is also a new favorite thing. There are always piles of paper from her drawings, aka "surprises" or "presents", around the house):
Brynn: "I sure am late. I have alot I need to do. I'm doing my job like you." (Yeah, Brynn, I spend most of my time coloring). "My job is work."
Me:"What work do you do?"
Brynn: "Oh...projects."

Another Brynn moment: The other day I was putting away some ice cream I had just bought at the grocery store. Brynn saw it, and wanted some. I told her she could only have a spoonful, so she needed to go get a spoon. She came back with a serious look on her face, and handed me a serving spoon to get her "spoonful". The girl is smart.

I have a feeling...

that I'm going to start hearing alot of "Collin-isms" from now on. All of the sudden, his vocabulary has exploded. He has been delayed in this area, so we are still in that phase of thinking every word out of his mouth is absolutely adorable. He is constantly mimicking us. I think I'm probably the only one that understands most of what he is saying, but he's improving. By the way, we really haven't been teaching him swear words. He's just not real great at pronouncing words like "house" yet. He has, however, picked up on the word "stupid". Lovely. He thinks its funny to get a reaction when he says it (especially from Brynn, who is appalled at hearing it, despite the fact that she is often the one who tells him to say it. Yeah, I'm onto you, girl). Today in the car, he started his chant, "Doo-pid, doo-pid, doo-pid". I gently reminded him that we don't say that word. So, for the next 15 minutes I heard him in the backseat whispering to himself, "Doo-pid, doo-pid, doo-pid...". I admit I was stifling a laugh from the driver's seat.

More Pictures from the Kids' Birthday Party

Hey, I'm only a month and a half behind on posting these. I have been a big slacker with the blog lately. And not because the entire month has been like the week I last posted about either. We did survive that week just fine, and we've had plenty of happy moments to help me forget most all of the bad stuff of that week. Any way, here are the pictures...


The Birthday Boy (mental note: give him his other sunglasses to wear when he is also wearing a hoodie. As Dave pointed out, he looks a little too "Unabomber-ish" with this combo. Disturbing!)

The Birthday Girl with one of her new gifts

Wild Man
Dave's sister Cyn and I
Cyn, Cheryl (Dave's and Cyn's mom), and Cyn's husband Mike
My Grandpa L with my brother Justin, my dad, and Justin's son Trance (4 generations!)
Me and my siblings and their spouses (minus my brother Brian and his wife Natacha who live out of the country): Travis & my sister Alison, me and Dave, Melissa and my brother Justin
More of my grandparents! Grandma Bertha, my Grandpa L, and my Grandma B
my Grandpa and Grandma B
Brynn with her Grandma Ida (who was in town from Utah, and representing Brynn's Grandpa Ralph as well)
Trying out the new scooters and helmets that Dave and I got the kids for their birthdays
After the party, Brynn and Collin each had fun releasing a balloon.

Just in case you ever wondered...

...It is absolutely possible for a DumDum lollipop stick to break in half from toddler drool and then be swallowed. And, in case you wondered, although lollipop sticks may be no match for toddler drool, they apparently can withstand said toddler's stomach acids and digestive tract. Yeah, it's been a bad week. Let's review: Sunday--both kids had to be taken out of Sacrament meeting multiple times for bad behavior (during one such exit, the not-to-be-named child pulled free of my grip and fell to the floor in front of the entire back half of the congregation. Lovely.) Monday--a series of full on meltdowns and refusals to do weight checks and vision/hearing tests during both kids' well checks. The worst of the meltdowns occurred right by the row of women on the phones scheduling appointments, as well as our nurse and doctor. Yeah, let's just say all 3 of us left that appointment in tears. Tuesday--after multiple nights of poor sleep from Collin, he decides that a 15 minute nap on the way home from the mall is more than enough sleep for him. The rest of us spent that afternoon and evening disagreeing. Wednesday--the lollipop incident (where I got to be re-humiliated when I had to explain the problem on the phone to the same nurse who got to witness the Monday antics). That is also the day they decided that it is fun to climb on the back of the couch and jump onto the tile. I can only imagine what my blood pressure must be like this week. I agree that its important to "keep it real" on blogs and everything, but can I just get some flowery, blissful moments to post about next week?

Passing on my love of photography...

I really love the creativity and imagination of my little ones. Really, I do. But not so much when their imagination results in my alarm clock going off before the sun is even up. Both Brynn and Collin have decided that my little battery powered alarm clock makes a really fun camera. They take turns holding it up to their eyes and requesting that we pose for "pictures". Then they click away. Each time I catch them "taking pictures" I remind myself that I need to make sure they haven't changed the time or set the alarm. But I forget. So...I was in a tired daze very early the other morning (thank you, morning insomnia) and everyone else was asleep, when I hear an alarm going off. I rarely have to set my alarm (again, thanks AM insomnia), so I didn't recognize where it was coming from. As it started getting louder and faster, I ran around the house trying to hunt down the source of the noise before it would wake the kids. It was on the piano. Of course! I think its time to retire the camera, I mean the clock.