Enchanted Island

We've been here for almost three years and have never been to this place called Enchanted Isaland. It was awesome! It's a huge, beautiful park in Phoenix that has all kinds of rides made for kids who are under 56 inches. Ethan barely made the minimum height requirement, but he made it and had SO much fun. We even got a coupon so it was only about $10 per kid for an all day pass. We didn't need to ride with them, so we only got enough tickets for us to ride the train (which I didn't get any pictures of). It's too bad it took us so long to find this place and get there because now we're leaving. Craig's been begging to go back ever since so we might have to squeeze in one more trip in the next week and a half.


The boys LOVE helicopters and planes so they were all over these rides. Craig actually rode the airplane ride twice. Can you see them in the red plane? It was hard to get a picture of them together since the planes flew up higher than us.

I think the bumper boats were their favorite. There was a kid standing in the pool (which was only about a foot and a half deep) pushing all the boats around. There was nothing electric or paddle-like about them. Even though they moved the steering wheel like it actually worked.
I think this was a big favorite.

Craig was the most excited about the Dragon Wagon. He's seen roller coasters on TV shows and always said he wanted to ride one. I wish I could have gotten a good picture of them during the ride (this was at the beginning). Ethan had his little hands clenching the sides with all his strength but was laughing and happily screeching and smiling the whole time. Craig just look worried. Once in a while he would smile, but with a furrowed brow. It was pretty funny. When they got off Craig said, "I didn't like that one!" No kidding.

And here's Mister Smiley Face Baby. He just likes to sit in the stroller and charm everyone standing around him. He'll fix his gaze on someone who's not looking at him and just stare, with his little cute smile, until they feel his eyes upon them and look to see who's staring them down. But then they can't resist smiling and talking to him. He's such a great little baby.

A crazy Valentine's Day

We had a bit of a scare earlier this week. Robert had some very minor chest pains on Monday morning. He actually didn't want to call it "pain" it was so mild, but then they came back a little stronger on Tuesday morning so he went into NextCare. They did an EKG and said there was an abnormality and that he should go to the ER. At the ER they ran some blood tests and said that there was a protein in his blood that appears when there is damage done to the heart. The ER nurse told us that he would be admitted to the heart hospital for 2-3 days, he would see a cardiologist, and he would be on medication for probably the rest of his life. Basically, what she was saying in "code" was he had some sort of cardiac episode or heart attack. Right after they moved him out of the ER to the new area, two guys from the ward came and gave him a blessing. In this 24 hour observation area, they did more tests and two different CAT scans. Anyway, after the blessing and for the rest of that day and into Wednesday morning, he got back a bunch of more test results with everything coming out perfectly fine and clear. His arteries were clean, the irregularity in his heart was gone, the protein levels were diminishing, and they had no concerns. So, he was sent home yesterday afternoon. It was a crazy and hectic way to start the week and we missed Valentine's Day, but at least everything turned out okay in the end.

Family Home Evening topic book

Boy, I'm on a posting spree! I don't think I've posted this much in a long time...over a year? Anyway, I got an idea from Pinterest. I saw this (follow the link) for a quiet book. My kids are far too young and far too destructive for something like that, but it gave me an idea. I struggle having Family Home Evening with a three- and a two-year-old. I've been needing something quick to pull out, interesting to them, and on their level. I've tried printing off lessons from the nursery manual, but those take too much effort to remember to do, find the pictures that go along with it, and keep them interested. I've done a story out of the children's Book of Mormon, but Ethan just wants to commandeer the book to "read" it and Craig isn't interested by those pictures. When I saw this quiet book, it all came together. I would put them on card stock, laminate them, and bind them with a book ring! Then, on Monday, when I've prepared nothing and at 7:05pm I remember we need to do Family Home Evening, I can pull these puppies out, flip it open, and voila! Something to read on their level, a picture to go with it, and pretty darn kid-proof, too. Here's the final result:


I'm really happy with how they turned out. For being someone who likes to craft and create things, but has a hard time thinking of things like this on my own, I'm pretty impressed with myself for being able to adapt this to something I can not only use but something I've really been needing. Anyway, there you go! Feel free to copy the idea, if you like. :)

6 months already!

Today Grant is 6 MONTHS OLD! I love this stage of baby-hood, but I hate how fast it goes. I ask him everyday to stay just as he is and never grow up, but he is already disobeying me. Here are some things I love about him:

-He's taken to sucking is thumb the minute I turn off his bedroom light, sit in the rocker, and he plucks his little head on my shoulder at nap or bed time.
-He's a snuggler when he's tired, and only with me. :)
-He looks so much like Craig to me, but I see Ethan in him, too.
-He's so sweet and easy and has been sleeping AWESOME lately.
-He's a momma's boy.

Of course, there's more, but I'll wrap this up with an impromptu picture of brotherly love.

"Mom, the shopping cart beat me up."

Can you see his eye? I told Robert that Craig was acting up at the store and wouldn't listen, so I socked him. Robert had a look of not really believing me but wondering if it might be a possibility, and if so, what would he do? But then I told the truth: Craig was bouncing, skipping, running, and looking at where he had gone and not where he was going (in typical Craig fashion) when he ran into me (not realizing I had stopped and was starting to turn down an aisle), tripped over the back of my foot, and fell head first toward the cart. His eye hit the metal part above the wheel as hard as a 45 pound three year old can hit with that kind of momentum. Poor guy. I was sure that when he pulled his head away from my shoulder, there was going to be blood. But, nope. We were lucky.

Our cat, the dragon

We have a cat, remember? I realized how much I don't say about her compared to when we first got her. I think the last time I posted anything about her was about three years ago. Maybe it was sooner, but she deserves a little face time. Here she is:

Just kidding. But someone told me once how she reminded them of Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon and I haven't gotten over it. Maybe it's her green eyes, sleek black fur, and her mystique that she likes to think she has. Or it could be how she points her ears back and looks at you from the sides of her eyeballs, all the time facing straight ahead, in a look I've always (even before the movie came out) referred to as her "dragon ears" look. You just don't know if she's going to playfully run away or rip you to shreds. No, really, she's great. She lets Craig hold her and Ethan gives her kisses and she's very tolerant. But there is an uncanny resemblance:

Is it me? I don't think so. I've thought about changing her unofficial name (Lucy), to stop calling her Kitty, and to go with Toothless.

We love our Toothless!

The Exhibitionist and the Streaker

Ethan's not a fan of clothing. He tolerates it when we're out (thank goodness) but once we walk in the door, or as soon as he wakes up in the morning, he strips down to his diaper. We've only been able to get him to keep his diaper on due to a period of using duct-taping. Sometimes, however, he just can't resist the temptation to go "all naturale." We were watching a movie the other day when Ethan literally jumped into the living (he's really into jumping, too, or "flying" as he calls it), wearing nothing but this rockin' red guitar around his neck, shredding away. I busted up laughing, and then he jumped onto the ottoman and continued his performance, totally into playing his guitar, so I had to take a picture.


Craig isn't brave enough to stand there and "exhibit"...he prefers to streak. Life with boys...I never thought it would be so....naked.

My "Mother' arms

I remember watching my mom knead bread when I was a kid. I remember when I finally got tall enough to stand at the counter and try it myself and realizing how hard it was. I would watch her knead that dough over and over again, for a good ten minutes and didn't know how she could do it. I figured she was just older and when I got older I would be able to. But then I got older. I was in college and tried my hand at making bread all by myself. After about three turns, I was wiped out. Yesterday, I was making bread again, which I only do every so often these days. I was kneading, listening to my Jim Brickman CD, and thinking about stuff. Then it dawned on me...I'd been kneading for over five minutes and wasn't the least bit tired. Then I started wondering why that way. I realized that I had been making bread every so often for several years and could knead just like my mom did. What had changed in the last ten years since my weak-armed college days? The answer is Motherhood. I think we get so preoccupied with life with kids, all the chaos going on every day, and we don't realize how our bodies are getting stronger with every overstuffed laundry basket, every car seat carrier containing a 20 lb. baby, every 45 lb. three year old (in my case) that needs help seeing over the window sill. The kind of strength that motherhood brings isn't visible (I certainly can't SEE any biceps and the baby weight does a good job camouflaging anything else). The evidence is in the day to day work. After all this time, I have "Mother" arms!