All I Want For Christmas...

Is my two front teeth...

Connor lost his fourth tooth last night, so now he has this cute toothless grin! Love it!! So cute! --Lindsay

One of the Biggest Mistakes of My 31+ Years

Yes, I made one of the biggest mistakes of my whole life earlier today...and I don't know how or why I did it. It could have ended up being catastrophic, but through luck (and obviously a huge blessing from above), it wasn't. You will think I'm the biggest dumb blonde EVER after reading this, but I had to write it down so I'll never forget what an IDIOT I really am. So, without further adieu (this is just fancy talk for "I'm stalling but ran out of things to say, so I have no choice but to go ahead and tell you what a complete fool I really am."), here's the story...

Today was my Mom's birthday! She's 29 again and to celebrate, my sister & I took her shopping. I had to go to work later in the day, so the plan was for me to drive my own car and meet the two of them at Fashion Place Mall. From there, I would hop into my mom's car & we would drive together to the first place we wanted to go.

I pulled up into a parking space & called my sister to see where they were. She told me that they were just pulling into the parking lot & would be there in a second. Just then, they pulled up right behind my car. I told my sister to stop. Then I grabbed my bag & ran over to jump in their car.

We headed to The Art Garden for a little shopping. We were there for awhile. In fact, we had probably been there for about 30 to 45 minutes when I realized that I didn't know where my keys were. I went out and looked in my mom's car...not there. We looked around the whole store...no where to be found. We started thinking that maybe I had dropped them when I was getting into my mom's car, so we rushed back over to Fashion Place Mall.

We returned to the parking lot and drove over to where my car was parked. I looked around the car...no keys. I decided to try to open the car door even though I knew it would be locked & I wouldn't be able to get in. But, much to my surprise, the door opened. What in the world? I always lock my car...even when it's in the garage at home! I hadn't locked it? How was that possible? Maybe I dropped the keys on the seat when I reached for my bag? No keys on the seat. Then I realized that my car was surprisingly cool for an 85 degree day. The air conditioner was blowing. What the heck?!? I looked toward the ignition and to my horror, I saw the keys IN THE IGNITION TURNED TO THE "ON" POSITION! Yes, ladies & gentlemen, I left my car running in a mall parking lot for at least 30 to 45 minutes while I shopped in another store several miles away!!! What in the world?!?

First of all, why would I have done that? My only thought is that I was on the phone with my sister & when I saw them pull up, I thought my car was off. I still can't figure out why I wouldn't have instantly went to lock the car & then realized I didn't have any keys in my hand.

Second of all, how did my car sit running in a mall parking lot for who knows how long & not get stolen? HOLY COW!!! I've decided that I'm either the luckiest person on the planet, or there was some heavenly help involved. I'm betting on the latter.

I called Mike right after & told him the story. He just started laughing hysterically. My mom made the comment that I'm lucky to have such a kind & understanding husband. But, I told her that he was probably just mentally storing that one away, so that the next time he does something stupid & I get mad at him, he can just pull that little gem out of his back pocket and throw it back in my face. Just you watch.

So there you go...the dumbest mistake in my 31+ years. The comment button is below, you can make fun of me there. --Lindsay

My Boys, Me & Toy Story 3

We were having a lazy day yesterday until we heard a knock at the door. It was my new friend, Emily, who lives right around the corner. She invited us to go with her and her kids to see "Toy Story 3." It took us all of 0.2 seconds to say "heck yeah" and off we went...


I was a little bit nervous about taking all three boys to a movie by myself, but I figured I would throw all caution into the wind & just try it. And, they all ended up doing pretty darn great...with a few minor hiccups! The movie was so stinkin' cute! Maybe even better than the first two...if that's possible. The movie was action-packed which Connor loved...but the action may have been a little much at times for Aiden and Cohen. Let me explain...

At one fairly intense part in the movie, Aiden covered his ears (because he said that made him feel "less scared") and then he yelled, "They're all going to DIE!!!" Yes, he yelled this out in a movie theatre full of people! I wasn't embarrassed or anything. ;) Luckily, it was a matinee and most the people there had kids with them too, so everyone just kind of laughed.

Cohen may have been permanently scared for life because the movie was so action-packed. At another intense part, Cohen turned around (he was on my lap) with a very concerned look on his face and said, "Mom! Buzz okay? Woody okay?" I tried to reassure him that they would be fine. But, about a minute later, he turned around again and asked the same question, "Mom! Buzz okay?!? Woody okay?!?" I again tried to tell him that everything would be okay & to just watch the movie. But, you guessed it, a little while later, we repeated this process...and we continued to repeat it for the remainder of the movie, even after the scary part was long since over. And then, he kept asking me if Buzz and Woody were okay on the drive home too...and after he woke up from his nap...and at baseball practice...and at dinner...and even once today. A commercial came on for "Toy Story 3" and automatically that worried look came back to his face, he ran over to me, and asked, "Mom! Buzz okay? Woody okay?" Oh dear! It may be almost as bad as the usual "Are we there yet?" or "Why?" questions. I said "almost"...I hate the "why?" question. Sigh...

So, there you go! I survived taking my three boys to a movie all by myself...with only minor psychological damage. And, I give "Toy Story 3" two thumbs up! I even teared up at the end. Yes, you can make fun of me...I got teary at "Toy Story." It really was such a cute movie! Definitely one we'll see again! --Lindsay

Why I Think I Deserve the Title of "Mother-of-the-Year"

This post is basically a bunch of random pictures from my camera that were taken over the past month. All of them are proof that I should be nominated as "Mother-of-the-Year." They are random things that happened when I was busy packing boxes & ignoring my children. Yep, I ignored my children...and quite frequently over the past month too. Mother-of-the-Year...right here!

The first happened when we were helping my sister, Kristin, get settled in her new house. We were over there late one night, so we turned on the TV for the kiddos to watch. Yes, I let my children stay up late & watch shows on Cartoon Network that were probably more suitable for kids twice their age. I'll be adding that to my Mother-of-the-Year resume. Connor stayed up the whole time watching TV, Aiden promptly fell asleep, and Cohen decided Aiden looked like a comfy pillow...


He seriously laid there for a good 30 minutes just cuddling with his brother. So cute! Maybe my kids' "cuteness factor" will help out my chances for M-O-T-Y.

The second thing happened when I was busy one afternoon packing boxes. Cohen kept asking me for a "gunk" which he thinks means "drink." I was busy & kept telling him to wait just a minute & then I would get him a drink. He probably asked me 3 or 4 times. Everytime, I kept telling him to "just wait a minute." Yes, again with the Mother-of-the-Year thing. Well, apparently he got tired of "waiting for a minute" (which was probably actually more like 10-15 minutes), so he took matters into his own hands...

Yes, he pushed one of the barstools over to the cupboard where we kept all the glasses. Got on top of the barstool (and probably the countertop too). Got a glass out. Moved the barstool (and the glass) over to the fridge. Got up on the barstool again. And then proceeded to get himself some water out of the fridge. And, by the grace of God, he didn't hurt himself in the process. Can I get extra credit in my quest for Mother-of-the-Year for having luck on my side?

This last picture happened the very next day. I, once again, got busy packing boxes. Cohen was playing with some toys in my bedroom and watching cartoons. Yes, I let my 22-month-old watch cartoons for hours on end for several weeks last month while trying to get ready for the move...and I didn't care one bit either. At least it was Nick Jr. this time. It's educational, isn't it? Seriously...does anyone want to nominate me for Mother-of-the-Year? I can't figure out why I haven't received this award yet?!? Anyway, I apparently got so busy packing that I forgot it was waaaaaaaaaaaaay past naptime...

Yes, he's sleeping with his ear pressed up against a nightstand. That must have felt great! I would bring up the M-O-T-Y thing again but, by this point, you already know how "qualified" I am for the job. And, the best part of all is that I let him continue to sleep in this lovely spot instead of moving him to his bed because I was worried I would wake him up & then my "packing productivity level" would go down the toilet. What?!? His ear went back to its normal shape...and after only a few hours too.

So, as you can see, I think I'm perfectly fit to be nominated as Mother-of-the-Year! It takes some serious skills to ignore your kids as much as I have the past month! And I just hope the board recognizes that.--Lindsay

Summertime Fun

I've been a total blog slacker...this I already know. We have been busy, busy, busy! Here's what we've been up to lately:

BASEBALL SEASON

Baseball season started a few weeks ago. Connor is doing another year of coach pitch & he is doing so good! I'm seriously impressed with his mad skills! The kid hits the ball into the outfield almost every time now. When they go to Nana & Poppy's house lately, Connor always wants to play baseball because he hits the ball over their fence all the time, so he's always getting "home runs." A few weeks ago, after one of his home runs, Nana said, "Connor! I think THIS is your sport!" Ever since then, he's always telling me that baseball is HIS sport. I guess it really is, he's doing awesome! Here's my little slugger right before his first game...


Here he is smashing the ball. If I remember right, this hit was a double. Way to go ConMan...


He's a tricky player because he's ambidextrous. He prefers his left hand for doing most things, but can use his right almost as good. He likes to throw left-handed, but can bat both left & right. He actually prefers to bat right-handed though & does that most of the time. Weird, I know...

While Connor plays, the rest of us amuse ourselves with various things like piggy-back rides...


Or making grass bouquets...

And after the game, we always have to play on the awesome playground equipment for a few minutes...

Baseball is pretty much our life right now. Connor has two practices a week & one to two games each week, so 3 to 4 evenings each week are instantly gone. Is that slightly excessive? I think it is. This is coach pitch...not the minor leagues, but what do I know. Connor's loving it, and I guess that's all that matters.

FINDING NEW FUN PARKS

Last Wednesday, my sister Sosha had her baby which means I FINALLY have a niece! She is the first baby girl born in this family since 1987!!! More details on her in just a few minutes. Anyway, my mom watched Sosha's boys for a few days last week while Ashlee was in the hospital & so the boys got to hang out with their cousins a lot. We were trying to think of new & fun things to do. I remembered that a few weeks ago, my friend Jessica told me about this awesome park in Pleasant Grove. It's called Discovery Park & it is perfect for little boys because it's basically just a bunch of forts. We decided to take picnic lunches & head over there. The boys LOVED it! And, guess who showed up while we were there? Jessica & her boys, so we all got to hang out together...

These two boys seriously LOVE each other!!! I call them "the twins" because they were born on the exact same day (about 5 hours apart) and they can never get enough of each other! I think they were hanging out in heaven together & decided to jump at the same time...

It was a really fun day! After the park, Jessica & her boys came over to our house & hung out for awhile. It was so fun to see them! We miss our old friends!

BABY ELLA

As I mentioned earlier, my sister had her baby last week. Little Ella was born on Wednesday, June 9th. Unfortunately, she has been having some respiratory distress & has been in the NICU since the day she was born. The first few days were pretty scary (she at one point was intubated & put on a respirator), but she has been doing better. She's just on oxygen now & is being treated for an infection of some sort. Hopefully, she'll be able to come home by the end of this week. Anyway, on Thursday, my other sister Kristin (a.k.a. Tata) and I were able to go up to see her. They even let us go into the NICU, after scrubbing off about 21,937,847 skin cells in the rigorous hand and arm washing process they make you do before you go in...

Isn't she so cute & sweet? She almost makes me baby hungry..."almost" being the key word there. We couldn't pick her up, but we could hold her hand & rub her tummy and stuff like that. It was so fun...

And, yes, I'm already her favorite aunt...although Tata will most likely tell you differently. She's slightly delusional like that.

BEAN MUSEUM

While Kristin & I were visiting Baby Ella, the other adults (Nana, Poppy & Mike) took all the boys to the Bean Museum on the BYU campus. They LOVE that place!

They went to a live animal show while they were there & touched all sorts of gross animals. Like snakes...

And some sort of dessert lizard...

And tarantulas...

Yes, even Cohen touched the tarantula...

And then there were some non-gross animals too, like this tortoise...

After the museum, they headed back to Nana & Poppy's for some ice cream. I hope they washed their hands first...

SUMMERFEST

On Friday, we tried to take all the boys to the Orem Summerfest carnival, but the weather was not cooperating. I think this year Summerfest should have been called "Marchfest" because that's what the weather felt like! It was cold & raining, but they boys still squeezed in a few rides. Here they are on the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" obstacle course...

Ty & Cohen took a spin on the cars. They are the car in the back. Sorry, my camera kept taking blurry pictures when they were close to me, so it's a far away picture you get...

And then some of the boys went on a pirate ship ride. Unfortunately, it started to pour down buckets of rain while they were on this ride. All of them were soaked by the time they got off, and half of them were crying...

So we went home to Nana's house to try to warm up with some hot chocolate. Who drinks hot chocolate in June?!? Apparently in Utah, that's what you do!

The next day was the parade. I was supposed to be live in Orem for the Summerfest activities, but because the weather was so bad, I ended up having to stay in studio. But, the family had fun without me, although they were pretty chilly the whole time...

Here they are saluting the flag as it went by...

They got way too much candy & were on a serious sugar high for the rest of the weekend!

So, that's what we've been up to for the first part of our summer! It's been a fun, but busy one! And, yes, for all of you who are going to ask, pictures of the house are coming! I just have a few more things to buy & a few more things to hang up and then my camera & I will have a good ol' time. I'm so excited to show you how cute it's all turning out! I love it! Stay tuned! --Lindsay

Memorial Day

Most of this year's Memorial Day was spent unpacking hundreds of boxes, but we did manage to squeeze in a few minutes of fun too. My sister & her hub, Kristin & Dan, held a barbecue at their new house for the whole family that evening. They just moved into their house a few weeks before we did. It's only 3.2 miles away from my house...yes, we figured out the exact distance. Anyway, the barbecue was a blast. Here's all the boys enjoying their burgers & hot dogs...


Cohen enjoyed throwing grass, dirt, rocks, etc. into his cup of water. Mmmmm, tasty...


After dinner, we made s'mores around their firepit...

And then to top it all off, my dad made pina coladas later that night! So yummy! We finally left at about 9:00. By that time, we had full tummies, dirty clothes & hair that smelled like campfire...so we figured that meant the barbecue was a success! It was a fun, and badly needed, break from the joys of moving! Thanks Tata & Dan! It was a blast! --Lindsay

No, I Didn't Fall Off the Face of The Planet

Well, we survived the move! I have so much to post about...memorial day, a bunch of random pictures I just downloaded from my camera from the past few months, pictures of the house, etc...but, as you can probably imagine, I've been SLIGHTLY busy the past week. ;)

Can I just say that I hope I never move again? Jeez Louise! It is a ton of work!! And, when did we accumulate so much STUFF?!? Holy crap!

We, of course, miss our old friends and neighbors like CRAZY, but we are loving the neighborhood & ward here already! Everyone has been so kind and welcoming! I had been told before we moved in that the ward was really fun & outgoing, but HOLY COW...I didn't expect just how fun & outgoing they would really be. It's been awesome! The kids have already made lots of friends (there are tons of kids both Connor & Aiden's ages, so we totally lucked out there), and Mike & I have made some good friends too. We love it already & feel really blessed to have found such a great place to live!

At this point, almost all the boxes are unpacked...and most everything has been hung on the walls. As soon as we're totally finished, I'll post pictures. But, until then, I thought I would post this cute little poem. Hey, I've got to give you something to keep you coming back! My sister found it on one of her friend's blogs & told me I HAD to read it. It reminded me so much of my life with my three little fellas. They really are the coolest kids on the planet & I'm so happy I get to be their mama! So, without further adieu, here's a poem that is "all about boys"...

BOYS

There are boys in my house with lots of boy things
Like transformer robots and dragons with wings
There's Jack (he's a pirate) and Thomas the Train,
There's a Bakugon coat to wear in the rain.
They have trucks on their shirts, skateboards on their hats
There's a glove and a ball and a big plastic bat.
There's dirt on a face and a smudge on a nose;
Grass stains on knees and sand between toes.
There's bathtime at night with bodies to scrub,
And when we're all done there is dirt in the tub.
There's bandaids and bruises and curious bumps,
There's smiles and laughter and sometimes there's grumps.
There's odors most icky; there's boogers so green
There's more yucky things than I'll ever get clean.
There's piles of laundry; there's stories at night;
There's bedtime and naptime and dinnertime fights.
There's running and climbing and jumping and falling,
And laughing and crying and hugging and brawling.
There's hiding and finding and sneeking and creeping,
And whining and smiling and sometimes there's sleeping.
There's tantrums and time outs and extra loud noise
There's love in my house shaped like three little boys.


Yep, that pretty much sums up my life! And, I'm loving every dirty, stinky, farty, burpy minute of it! I wouldn't change it for the world! --Lindsay