Roxy follow up

Roxy has found her place in our family. She puts up with all the torture loving from the boys, but gives to them as well well as they give to her. They tease her all the time -Wyatt loves to run to her, and run away screaming so she will chase him -but she eats their toys, so they are even I guess.

Roxy does not shed at all. We knew it could be possible that her coat would shed, but we are so thankful it was not the case for us. Her fur is so pretty and full. We got her a haircut a month or so ago, but with the weather being as it is in Las Vegas mid summer, the poor girl finds the coolest spot in the house to be the boys bath tub.

Roxy is now about 7.5 months old. She knows the basic tricks of sit and paw, as well as it seems she likes to stay close to me when we go outside now, instead of running off to greet any human she spots. She is a great watch dog at night, barking when she hears a noise, and then going off to investigate the sound. Don taught her to climb the ladder up to our summer pool, and we all get a kick out of seeing her doing it.





She has added lots of fun to our life, and we are so glad she fits in our family so well.

1:10

Today I took the boys to one of the free movies around town and play at the playground next to it. Wyatt was so happy to go to the "playground with a maze in it" that he actually jumped up and down and declared it the "best day ever!".

For over an hour, I watched the boys run around the play area and through the water center. Climb up the stairs and fly off the slide with their wet tushes- all while being jealous that they were nice and cool while I was sitting on a towel on the barely shaded bench so my rear end would not end up with burn marks the shape of the wood slats.

Jaxon disappeared for a bit, up in a tree house. I knew he was up there, but called out to him to make sure all was well. He responded, "I am here, Mom! I am making NEW FRIENDS!" He is always making new friends, even the bigger kids don't intimidate Jaxon.

After needing to leave the playground to eat our apples, I was ready to go. I could tell the boys were as well -with their little hot pink faces and tired eyes- but they asked to just be able to play on the stage before we go. So I said sure, and back to play we went.



At this point (only 6 minutes later) they are half holding on to wanting to play, and half falling over from being so hot and tired. Trying to usher them out by walking out without them, they follow me to the car, losing all energy as it is soaked up by the heat waves coming off the concrete sidewalks.

About 100 ft from the car, we are in what we call the "echo hallway". All their energy is suddenly regained while the kids belt out any song or phrase that pops into their minds. Today -being as tired as they were- the only thing they could think to say was the word ECHO!! over and over again, each time trying to say it louder than not only the last time, but their brothers too.

At home, I was sitting on the couch. Finally we are home, and the fan was spinning around over me. I had sweat covering my forehead and dripping down the side of my face. I could feel parts of my shirt sticking to me from the hot car on our drive home. 1:10, the clock says. For a few seconds I sat there while my mind actually had to figure out if that was the time or the temperature.

And it occurred to me, probably both.

Just Dance

One of our new favorite things to do is play "Just Dance" on the Wii. It can play four people at a time, and the boys just go nuts over it -which is a good thing. It keeps them busy, and all three can play at the same time.

The only downside is that they like to dance to the same song ("Hot and Cold" by Kate Perry) over and over. And over and over and over and over. They'll throw in an occasional "Who let the Dogs Out?". And then add about thirty more over and overs till "Eye of the Tiger", and then you get might just start to get the idea.

Watch them dance here...

Cali Day 3 & 4

On day 3, it was all about a day at the beach. From sun up to sun down we spent the day playing in the sand. I took advantage of the exercise up and down the 130 steps and offered to go back for snacks, lunch, and again to get the laundry done in between. Eventually I was able to go up without feeling like I was going to drop 2/3rds of the way from the top.


The whole rock side of the beach was full of these squirrels. They have the life, I tell you. All day long, they are snatching food from random camp and beach sites, then go back into the shaded areas and relax to the sounds of the surf.


It was a great lazy day of much rest and fun. Jaxon gets the chills easily and he just laid under the towels in the sun for about an hour while his brothers played.


Lucas and Don built some sand castles. Here you can see Lucas destroying them with his excavator.


We have to take at least one picture of ourselves :)


The boys would love to run up to Don and egg him on until he would chase them. They are so fortunate to have such a happy father. He makes our life so much fun.

A video of the boys and Don.




Day 4


This was also a very lazy day. Somewhat through the morning, I remembered we had a swing in the camper. Don didn't think we had one, then he thought there was no where to hang it and I was set for the challenge of figuring it out myself.


Luckily we had no neighbors and hung the swing in between our site and the one next to us. The boys were finally the right size to be able to get up on it themselves, so they swung like little monkeys.




Later in the afternoon we were able to meet up with the kids! We hadn't seen them in over a year, but love knows no time restraints.


Matthew had gotten bigger and I would have never thought possible, but even more handsome! The kids all played chase when we got there and I heard Matthew tell the boys that they freak him out, but within minutes he had gotten his bearings and held his own. He is so much fun and such a great kid!


Giving the game of chase a break, we all sat and played Uno for a bit.


Michael is same ole awesome Michael. He is so loving and kind, and the kids all look up to him since he is the oldest. My boys laugh at everything Michael says. No words can be found for me to define Michael. He is just beyond awesome.


Ms Cathryn had really grown up. She seemed more comfortable in her skin, which I remember was hard at that age. The boys couldn't get enough of her, and she has so much patience with them. It is fun having a girl around the mix of boys, she is a perfect fit!


My face hurt from smiling so much that evening. It had been so long since we had been able to see the kids, but everything fell right back into place. I love how family is easy like that.

What an awesome day!

Garage Door Hang Up

One day when Don opened the garage door, one of the boys got an idea.



Since then, they have evolved to manning the garage door opener themselves -taking turns so each of them get their fair share of fun.

Bits and Pieces

Little bits of what is happening in our house.


ROXY


Roxy is still here, looking as cute as ever. Things are not as dreamy as I would like them to be (cough cough) -but they are looking up. Potty training is still a struggle, but much better since we got the doggie door in. We do seem to have one pee incident a day in the house. No rhyme or reason other than just trying to tick me off. :) She is very nippy -to the point of trying to keep children away from her, but I know it is largely due to the fact of she is living with three crazy little people in our house hold. It is getting better day by day, but it has been hard.




WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO?


Here in Las Vegas we are in the season of spring. Along with the pretty spring weather, we have been making more trips out to the parks. The boys are really into baseball lately -not sure how or why- but it is nice we can finally get out all the baseball equipment we have been staring at in our garage for years and years. Even Don and I got into the groove, tossing the ball around at the park and wowing the boys with our "super far" throwing skills.




Although we are at the playground, Wyatt takes his food into consideration first and foremost. He is NOT going to put his pizza down. It is coming with him.




Don has been busy with the boys. He takes them for rides on their bikes. Sometimes to the store for a treat, and sometimes to the railroad track (you can see the Las Vegas strip in the background).


Recently the Touch-A-Truck event was in town and Don took the boys to that one morning.
The boys are debating whether be a driver with UPS like their Uncle Jeremy...






Or just hop in the DeLorean for the afternoon and work on looking cool.



















I LOVE..


When I download the camera card into my computer and see pictures the boys have taken.



PROJECTS

Both Don and I have been up to some projects. Mine are all sewing related -first a quilt for our niece's first birthday, and then some crayon and paper holders for the boys.



Don has been busy with some major projects. First he had to fix our car so it could pass smog. He let the boys help him until one of the kids dropped a bolt into the engine. Luckily Don was able to get it out without any damage done. Second, he has single handled (which is so weird because usually we are a 50/50 team) taken care of the issues we had in our downstairs bathroom. He has had to take the tile up, tear a wall down to the studs, and is now building it all back together.

Last, our always on going project seems to be our garden. We have branched out this year -tearing out a majority of the bushes in our flower bed and planting lots of veggies instead. Both cherry and regular sized tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, lettuce, strawberries, grapes, watermelon, lettuce, onions, carrots and so much more has been planted. Now we are just watching and waiting.




US


We are looking forward to our upcoming summer plans. Don deserves his vacation time and will use some of it doing family stuff like camping in Utah, as well as San Diego and Malibu. He also is hoping to go hunting with some friends this fall.

I have been really working hard to lose weight and it finally seems like I am back on the right track. Two pant sizes down so far, and seeing results like that make it so much easier to keep the momentum. My goal is to be fit enough by the time the boys go to school to sometimes drive them to school, jog home and then jog back to pick them up before school is out. And have enough time at home to be productive in between- not just get home and then have to turn back around to get them.




DID YOU CATCH THAT?


The boys start kindergarten next year. They are registered for half day. The lady in the office was speechless when I requested they be in the same class. Their preschool teachers say the boys are great together, no distractions or disruptive behaviors -so if it is not an issue, I see no reason to split them up their first year in a new school. Keep the posse together!




UNCLE CARL, this is for YOU

The boys love these marshmallow shooters you got them (was it for Christmas?). It makes mom's lawn look all sorts of springy with the pastel mini marshmallows all over the yard. Guinness loves to eat them, so that helps with the clean up (at least in the front yard).

They are finally mastering the scooters, too.







So we have been busy, but how do we balance the kids being busy enough to stay out of trouble at the same time of getting mom and dad some rest? Is it possible?

Probably not.

But we still enjoy it all :)

Going to the Fair!

Every year since the boys have been born, we have gone to the Clark County Fair. The first year we got stuck in horrible traffic once we hit the freeway exit. It took us over an hour to go the 5 miles to the fair. The boys were only 11 months old and we were stuck in the car during their lunch time. As time went by we tried to keep them distracted until they were having no more of it. They started screaming and I had to run to the back of the car to get their water and formulas. I think it was the first time we had feed them while they were still strapped into their car seats. Two good things came from that day. First, now we know not to go to the fair on a Saturday afternoon. Second, feeding the kids on the way to somewhere -what a time saver! Although every year at the fair we have fun, this year it was like no other! Some of our friends came as well, and while we figured sooner or later we would run into them, we actually ended up being with people we knew for about half the day.


First we got there at lunch time -and we all met up and had lunch together under a giant cottonwood tree. There was a beautiful breeze in the air and it was just so peaceful taking everything in. A clown drove by on his giant bike and we could see kids playing at different play stations near by.

Once lunch was over, the group of us walked around for a bit and then our walk came over to the carnival area. Walking up to the ticket booth came our other friends Michele and Greg with their kids! This was the first year we have had the boys ride the rides, and that they were able to do so with so many friends really got them excited.



What seemed like 2 hours later (and it really may have been!) the sun was in full heat mode in the sky and everyone's faces were bright pink. Despite only being half way through the carnival area, we got the kids out of the ride area with promises of snow cones in the shade. Once again we each ended up meeting each other in the grass area. We found Michele, Joselle found us, and then Andi and Jen came last as they were leaving the park. The boys were having so much fun running around, wrestling, jumping, even dancing. They just couldn't stay still! After we left the grass area, we figured we were on our own for the rest of the evening. Two of our friends were calling it a day and we had so much more to see before the Mutton Busting show later in the evening.


On our way out of the second animal pavilion, there was an lady with live animals on a table. She had a monkey, a half raccoon and something or the other, and then an armadillo. The boys caught her eye and she asked them if they wanted to hold it. All three got a chance and surprisingly, none of them freaked out and dropped it!


Off for dinner we went, and then off to watch the Mutton Busting (little kids riding sheeps instead of bulls). We ran into a family friend and sat with them while we got to have our first Mutton busting experience. Jax kept the stand in stitches until the riding began. He declared, "It was the best day in his life, ever!". And then while children's names were being announced, he would get excited every time someone was from Las Vegas. One child's (about 7 yrs old) name was Ethan (same as 2 yr old boy down the street) and Jaxon couldn't believe that Ethan grew that much!


The plan was to go back to the carnival rides and let the boys go through the second half. The boys rode on almost every ride they could with their height restrictions, and even went on a ride or two I was certain they would have backed out of. The ran through fun houses 3 or 4 times in a row, and couldn't get to the next rides fast enough.






Not many of my ride pictures came out clear, but you can easily see the boys just had pure joy radiating on their faces. It was crazy to see them standing in lines by themselves, playing around and wrestling like excited little boys do. To any passerby, I am sure it looked like they were hopped up on so much sugar -but it was all just excitement.






Two full hours later, we finished the last ride and bribed the boys out of the park with cotton candy. It was almost 9:30 and we had been there since noon. Luke was not quite ready -trying to parent us by saying he was choosing two more rides instead of the one we let them have- but with cotton candy in hand and his eyes growing tired, he smartly gave in.



On the drive home, I couldn't get the goofy grin off my face. The day was perfect -just the kind of days you picture in your head when you think about some day having a family. Packed lunches, snow cones, fair corn dogs and cotton candy mixed in with farm animals and carnival rides. I really can't imagine it getting much better than this.

To know them...

To know my boys is to SEE my boys. Here are some very short videos of our day to day life. Riding bikes, playing music and giving a little booty shake. A bit of sliding down the slide while riding a truck or just random parts of the day.

Enjoy the movies!

ROXY

Today we picked up our new girl, Roxy. She is an 8 week old labradoodle and we are completely in love with her. She's the runt of her litter, so it will be interesting to see how big she gets, or if she stays on the smaller size.

The boys are completely smitten with Roxy, and ever so gentle, too. She seems to fit right in around here, following us around in the house and checking out her new home. It is really amazing how a puppy proofing is so similar to baby proofing. Letting the boys know that Roxy can choke if she gets a toy or something in her mouth seems to be a huge motivation for them to put away their toys. It is only the first day, I am well aware, but I am hoping it is a start of a clean house as well. *I know, but a girl could hope :)

Here is a video of Roxy's first few minutes in the house.


Another video, but this is when Roxy was taking a nap and Wyatt and Luke grabbed their guitars and sang twinkle twinkle to her!