the boring stuff...

So many little things have been going on that I haven't blogged about - don't know why I haven't been into it lately. So here is a long update of what's going on with us, then back to your regular blogging program.

About John and I:
We celebrated our 9th anniversary in March, didn't do anything exciting. We never do. Sad story. One day (maybe number 10??)! John is stressed with his situation, but he really has done a good job lately of staying positive (or just pretending really well)! I am trying to find the time to get my jewelry business going again, but it seems something is always going on. Computer problems have not helped either.

Off the subject note about cockroaches...I don't think I understood before moving to the desert that cockroaches lived here. If I had - I really think I would have thought twice. When we lived in our apt. I don't think I ever saw one (we were on the 2nd floor). Since we have moved in our house - I can't tell you how many I've seen. They are the yucky big black kind. GROSS. But, what is even grosser... they seem to like my BED! I've woken up in the night to one crawling on me, not once, not twice, but THREE separate times! AAAACCCCKKKK!!!! We spray religiously, and don't see tooo many in our house. I've pulled my bed out, scrubbed it clean, taken all the bedskirts off, pulled apart mattresses, cleaned sheets, vacuumed under the bed, everything. Any tricks out there??


Zane:
He has been doing great on his medication. Really, the fits have all but disappeared. He seems to not have any side effects and feel just fine. Occasionally, he has some attitude and moodiness, but I think it is related to the stressful situation we are in, and he can "feel" that. When we are having a bad day - even though we may be hiding it - you can usually bet that it will translate over to him in some way. Things have been so good though, it's almost like all that stuff that used to be a regular occurrence - never happened. He's able to be him, and we love it!!


Lily:
Lily is potty trained! She has been doing great. We started around Spring break time (1 month ago) and she already sleeps through the night dry. She still has #2 issues, but I'm beginning to think all kids do. She already had those issues before we potty trained, so nothing new. She is getting better though. She talks so much now, and just adores Zane. She is starting to get a little bit annoyed with her little brother, which is funny to me. I think she has hit the "terrible twos" which really aren't so terrible. But, she has her days. She LOVES nickjr on TV and really would watch TV all day long if I let her. It is really hard to get her away from it (which means she really does watch a lot more than I would like, or admit!). At least they don't have those yucky commercials. I love to hear her little sing-song voice and her singing is so stinkin' cute!


Evan:
I already posted a bunch about him on his birthday post, so I will just say I love this kid! He has started to take a few steps (which I actually can't wait for). He loves to be outside, but our yard is not crawling baby friendly at all. Where did my little baby go?

soccer...

Zane is almost finished with the season of soccer. We thought he might enjoy it a little more than flag football, since they actually were going to be playing games, and it's a little more fast paced. Nope, not so much. He "tries" to pay attention to the ball, but is not really interested. He did play goalie once at which he actually did pretty well. Blocked one kick with his whole body and didn't even complain! ;-) He only has a couple of games left, but it might be pulling teeth to get him to go. When the coach asks who wants to sit out, he is the first to raise his hand. Oh well, soccer just may not be his thing (or really, sports in general) but it is still early to tell.

happy birthday evan!...

Can't believe my little baby turned one! His birthday was the 13th. I was trying to catch up in chronological order, but it might take me forever, so I decided I better post this now. We celebrated with just our family. We are going to have some more cake and ice cream this weekend with extended family.

About Evan right now:
He loves to crawl everywhere and he is fast. He cruises on furniture, but doesn't seem to have much interest in learning to walk himself. He can get where he wants pretty fast by crawling. He is sooo happy and loveable, I just can't get enough of him. He is very easy going, and able to entertain himself. He loves to get into everything and adores his older brother and sister. I love to make him smile and get his slobbery kisses. It took him awhile to get a taste for food. He didn't start really eating baby food until 9 1/2 months! He LOVES it now, packs it in! If he can pick it up himself, he will eat it. He says mama and dada but we like to say his first word was: dirt. I asked him while at the park one day if he wanted to get down and play in the dirt, and he repeated right back - DIRT. I kept saying dirt dirt dirt over and over and he kept repeating it. Too cute. He is definitely ALL BOY! Love you evie-evers!!

happy birthday relief society...

During spring break - I had the opportunity to participate in a program that my grandmother wrote for her ward's annual Relief Society birthday dinner. Each member of the cast represented a former (and one the current) general r.s. president. We practiced songs and memorized our parts for 2 months to make sure it was perfect. Each person was to dress and look like the person they were representing. I was Barbara Smith, and my sister was Zina Young.

My sister traveled to and from Cedar City for practices. 2 separate times her new car broke down on the way. On the day of the performance, there was a huge accident on I-15 that kept the freeway closed most of the afternoon. It opened up with just enough time for her to make it to the meeting. She walked in 5 min. before we were to start. There was also another accident that day that killed 2 women in my grandmother's stake (who happened to be attending their ward's r.s. birthday celebration as well). We decided that what we were about to do must be important because *someone* was definitely trying to keep it from happening.

While memorizing my part - I never really "felt" it. This was sort of a relief for me because if you know me at all, you know I am a bawl baby. I was glad that I knew I would be able to say it without being emotional at all. Sitting in my seat on the stand during the program, I said a little prayer to repent for how I had been feeling about the part, and my sort of negativity towards it. I got up to do my part and made it all the way to the very last quote, and choked up. It was definitely the spirit speaking to me about how amazing these women were/are! Thank you grandma for that opportunity.

Here are some pictures to compare - (do you think we looked the part?)

(I still can't get over my hair - I am amazed at how she got it to look like that)

spring break...

Awhile back we had spring break. We did nothing but hang out around home. Unfortunately we had rainy weather the whole time, so a lot of time was spent inside. We managed to make it through without killing each other, so I call that a victory! Maybe we will make it through the summer...

...feeding the local ducks...

Cub scouts...

John is the cubmaster and I am the committee chair in our ward cub scout pack. This means that we have to plan pack meetings (once a month) and some of those pack meetings are pretty special events. In February we have the Blue and Gold banquet which is a dinner for the scouts and their families that celebrates the birthday of scouts. This year is the 100 year anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America so it was extra special. We planned a "Cubby Awards" themed banquet complete with MC (our wonderful cubmaster) and entertainment (by the MC and the wolf pack). I did all the decorations and helped John plan the ceremony. We gave out our cubbies and had a lasagna dinner and birthday cake. Turned out great.



After the Blue and Gold, we have the Pinewood Derby. This is a BIG DEAL to the scouts. Unfortunately this year, John came down with strep throat the day of the derby, so that left me in charge. I REALLY REALLY did not want to be the one in charge, but with a lot of help from my den leaders, we made it work. I think it turned out fine, and the kids had a lot of fun. (*I couldn't find these pics, I will have to upload them later)

Then just a couple of weeks later we had the Scout Expo. Our pack had a booth where the kids could make paper airplanes and throw them through some hoops (and get a piece of candy, of course). We kept it simple, and I think it worked out great. The boys that came had a lot of fun. My kids had a blast going around to all the different activities. There was a rock climbing wall, bounce house, rope bridge, fire engine, water rockets, and Zane's favorite - scuba diving. When it was his turn to put on the gear he said to the person running it: "Did you wash that off really good?" The guy was kinda confused and said "What? The mouth thing? Uh, the water is super disinfectant." I wouldn't want to put that in my mouth either Zane, after who knows how many boys had been sucking on it already. Way to be tough!

We've been really busy with scouts lately so we are looking forward to the summer break!