A Near Brakedown

For those you you who have kids in school, you will know exactly what I am talking about. Those who don't yet have that luxury will soon find out. Anyways here is what happened yesterday...
The night before the kids would not go to sleep. We put them to bed at their usual time 8:00. Well, by 9:30 they were still up, still being naughty. I really don't know what time they went to bed because i was done with it and locked myself in my bedroom. I was hoping that because they went to bed so late that they might sleep in- just a little. Not to be. At 6:45 the first little bounder comes in. i try to ignore her and pretend that I am sleeping. That worked for the first 5 minutes until the other two came in. So, I send them downstairs to watch TV until I can face the world. As they are going down the stairs McKenzie starts yelling that Abby is wet- yes, her diaper that she wears to bed still the tab had broken sometime during the night. She was wet her bed was wet and the jammies were wet. So much for staying in bed. I get her cleaned up, put the sheets in the washer and turn around just in time to hear McKenzie and Cameron screaming and yelling at each other- for who knows what reason. I put them both in timeout for 5 minutes.
Lets just say it went down hill from there. Attitudes flying, tempers fl airing, tears flowing. By lunch time I had had it!!! I screamed and yelled at them ( and felt like dirt right after). Luckily I always make them have a quiet time right after lunch. Abby sleeps and the other two either read or play quietly by themselves for about an hour.
So i called Pug and told him that I needed the night off. Before I packed up the kids and drove to Pugs work I really tried to be good and play a game with them. Cameron was crying because his pawn was sent home (we played Trouble) and he didn't want to play any more because it wasn't fair, McKenzie was yelling at Abby because she moved her pawn, Abby was crying because she didn't get her turn...
I was more than ready to drop them off! It was really nice. All I did was walk around a bunch of different stores, looked at EVERYTHING without kids crying, took myself out to dinner, and plain did just nothing.
When I came home I was nice and relaxed. I was able to do so much thinking about ways to fix these problems. One of the things that I decided I was going to start doing is maybe 2 nights a week after the kids go to bed I am going to go out walking. So, if there are any other moms who want to go walking with me without kids let me know (I don't have an exact day or time yet). Hopefully then I will be able to deal with my kids a little better the next day.

A Chop Job

Well, I finally did it! The girls got their hair cut. Now granted, McKenzie has had her hair cut numerous times- she is like me, grows it long and then chops it short. But this is the first official haircut for Abby. A few months back I did give her a little trim, but only to even it out. I finally was just tired of the fighting when it comes to brushing her hair. My girls have very fine hair that if it is not done and has a TON of hairspray it will not stay. So, I know from experience that short hair is easier to take care of, but they look so cute when it is actually fixed (even if it only lasts about an hour).
Here are the before pictures. Nice long hair...


And the after, about 8 inches later...


Thanks Laurie! You do great work.

Yellowstone!

Last weekend we were able to take the kids-and Pug's parents- to Yellowstone! We also went with Pug's sister Julie and her family. On the way up we stopped at Idaho Falls and walked through the Temple visitor center. It was a great break and who doesn't love the feeling being near a temple can bring. The kids absolutely loved the park. The first day we went in were had only gone about 5 miles when we were stuck in a buffalo traffic jam. What a great way to start the trip. The kids were thrilled! They loved all of the geysers and hot springs and paint pots. There is so much to see and do I think that we decided that next year we are going to go again and add at least one more day to spend in just the park. I had so many pictures I could decided which ones to post, so you get a slide show this time! Enjoy!

mini golf and dancing

For Cameron's birthday he wanted to take his good friend Eryk miniature golfing. Here are just a few pictures that I took before the rain came pouring down! Luckily the people that worked there were nice enough to let us continue on the indoor course!




McKenzie had her dance recital on Thursday. She was a toad. She danced to the song "It's Nasty Being a Toad" (it is from the Barbie Fairytopia Magic of the Rainbow movie) She did a fabulous job. I am so proud of her and all her hard work!

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY CAMERON!!!!

My little boy is turning 6! I can't believe it! Where has the time gone! Cameron is such a wonderful son. He is so willing to help people when they need it. His testimony of the gospel is so strong already it humbles me to be his mom. We like to tease Cameron that he is our Mr. Extremo- he is either really happy or really mad. Luckily for us the really mad is usually just a short phase. He is so smart and loves school, loves to read, loves to write and make up stories. Soccer is his passion. His favorite position is goalie, in fact his coach right now used to play goalie when he was younger and is quite impressed with the skills Cameron naturally has. If there is a ball involved he seems to catch on really quickly. He loves golf, football, baseball, basketball, of course soccer and has just learned about rugby and can't wait to give it a try. Cameron is a good big brother to his little sister Abby and is a good little brother to McKenzie. Cameron we love you so much and are so proud of you and the things you have accomplished so far.


Cameron's hospital picture when he was born

At his blessing- all of the Grandpas in his life (Cameron, Grandpa Glen, Grandpa Bob, Great-Grandpa Stoddart, Great-Grandpa McCullough, Great-Grandpa Fetzer, Great-Grandpa Skeen, Great-Great-Granddaddy Smith.

Cameron at 1

Cameron at 2

Cameron at 3

Cameron at 4

Somehow his 5 year old picture has been packed, but this is the picture I took of him today

Carnival fun!

Every year EM does a carnival at the end of their Pony Express days. The last three years we have gone and just had a blast. Here are a few pictures of us enjoying the rides.

Fun times on the motorcycles


On the boats...

on the train...

Abby and Daddy on the carousel...

Mommy, Kenzie and Cameron on the Ferris wheel...

Playing on the Army trucks!

For the Birds

Last week I was able to take the kids to the Tracy Aviary. They had never been there before and I had been years the last time I was there. The kids had a blast. The ducks were being tagged and vaccinated while we were there so the kids were able to see them up really close and watch how they were taken care of. They have some really interesting birds there. One of the favorites were the peacocks. They were everywhere. We saw them on the tops of fences, on the roofs of buildings, walking around the grounds. I think they thought they owned the place. They have a small bird show where they show off some of the trained birds. They called for a volunteer to help and Cameron was chosen. He thought that was soooo cool. Afterwards they gave him a coupon for free bird food to feed the ducks and pelicans. He was a good sport and shared it with everyone.

One of the birds with a crazy hairdo ( kinda hard to see in the pic)

One of the peacocks chillin on the fence.

Cameron at the bird show.