the quiet chair says...

is it time for school to start yet?

pioneer day 2009...

Pioneer Day! The 24th of July! Isn't it so fun to have a 2nd fireworks holiday in July? We spent the morning having a nice breakfast at our stake center. Yummy dutch oven potatoes, loved it! It reminded me that we have a dutch oven, that has never been used. So, we dug it out and made a peach cobbler for dessert after dinner. Super yum!

We spent the day swimming in our little pool, and hanging out around the house. We grilled for dinner and did our little sparklers and very small fireworks. We can see the city fireworks from our front yard, so Zane stayed up to watch them. We had put Lily to bed, but woke her up to see them. As soon as John brought her out, she looked out at the fireworks and then said "night-night". I asked her if she wanted to go back to bed and she said "yes I do". Lily says this all the time right now in this cute little sing song voice. Love it.

(ignore the very splotchy skin and gray hair - post pregnancy is not pretty)

While Zane and I were setting up our chairs to watch the fireworks, Zane noticed something on our front steps. I got a picture of it right before the camera battery died. I believe it's a Rocky Mountain Toad from what I could research from the internet. Pretty fun!


John and I got to go see Annie Get Your Gun last night. I think it was fitting for the Pioneer Day weekend. Unfortunately I am sick again. I have been coughing the past few days, and while sitting in the theatre, noticed that I had a fever again. Sorry to anyone that was in the theater last night!

We are thankful for the pioneers and all the sacrifices they made coming across the plains. And I'm thankful that I wasn't one of them!

friends, family, FUN!...

John's extended family had a family reunion in Logan this past weekend. We got up to Logan on Friday evening (finally) and spent the day Saturday at a park (in the heat) visiting with family. I had been sick since Thursday with a fever and flu-like stuff, so it wasn't so great for me, but the kids had a lot of fun playing with cousins.

On Sunday - we decided to take a little side trip up to Minnetonka Cave in Idaho by Bear Lake. Zane is very interested in caves, and we figured this might be the only close by cave that we could actually go into with the kids. Timpanogos is too hard of a hike for the little ones (and us!). I didn't realize that although there is no hiking to Minnetonka - there are 444 steps over just a 1/2 mile of cave inside. Up and down. And you have to go in and back. So 888 steps total. Including one really steep 71 step staircase. A lot of these steps are uneven rock steps as well. So - I would recommend - do not take your kids unless they can walk it themselves (and NOT at nap time). John carried Lily almost the entire way, and I carried Evan in the baby Bjorn. John had to leave early with Lily - she was DONE. I stayed with the baby and Zane. Zane did fabulously. He loved it and didn't complain. I have to say that I am STILL sore 3 days later.





Monday was Lagoon day. It wasn't really smart of us to go and kill ourselves doing that cave the day before. We were pretty sore to be walking around Lagoon all day. It was a very hot day, and I wasn't fully recovered from my illness (I'm sure the cave the day before did not help). John and I, Lily, and the baby all stayed as long as possible, but left late afternoon. Much too hot to have a baby out. I don't know what it is about nursing in the heat, but it's just really NOT fun. I really don't know how the pioneer women did it. We left Zane to ride the rides with some of John's cousins. He had an absolute blast! He rode all the roller coasters and just loved it. I felt bad that we weren't there to see his excitement and share in it, but I'm so glad that he was able to enjoy himself.






We had a lot of fun being able to spend time with family and old friends. We miss you all and wish we could see you more often. Thanks for the fun times!!

summer fun...

Can you believe that school starts in one month? Wow. The only way to survive our summers outside is to live in the pool. We have a little pop-up pool that we got last year, and it has been sooo great. Zane, Lily, and I spend a couple hours out there every day. It's perfect for the kids. Evan's not quite big enough to spend time out there this year - but the pool should make it to next year. When (if) we are ever able to get a new house, my requirements (let me clarify - these are NEEDS, not WANTS) are: a pool, mature shade trees, covered patio, and at least 2 floors. Is that too much to ask? A girl can dream...

I posted a picture of myself in a swimsuit? Seriously?

the long road from phoenix...

We spent the 4th of July in Phoenix with my family. We had a lot of fun swimming, eating, going to the movies, and just hanging out together. Arizona is not keen on fireworks, and we didn't have it in us to go to one of the big shows, so we just lit our black snakes, and threw our poppers on the ground. The kids had a lot of fun playing with aunts and uncles and of course grandma and grandpa. I didn't get enough pictures, I always forget to get out the camera when there is a big crowd.

(The kids did have really cute 4th of July outfits, but Lily was already in jammies, and Zane had changed his shirt after swimming - so I didn't get a picture of them, doh!)

On the way home, we decided to take the Laughlin way and avoid the traffic going over Hoover Dam. We were stopped for quite awhile going TO phoenix that way, so we knew it would be bad going back. So, of course, about 6 miles outside of Laughlin there was an accident that shut the freeway down for over 2 hours. Nice! We sat for over an hour, and watched as some cars ventured off onto a dirt road and disappeared. We were iffy about trying that, so we called my dad, and he googled for us. Since the road was going to be closed for at least another hour, and that road didn't look to be long, we decided to try it.

We got going, and my goodness I was scared. It was a jeep challenge course I kid you not! We said a prayer, and a few minutes later Zane said to me "Mom, the Holy Ghost told me that we should be careful of the big rocks." Thanks! I tried not to cry too hard, and tried my best to hold it together for the kids. They really didn't seem to care. They just watched their movie, and occasionally Lily would say "Bump!" and laugh hysterically. We made it through, with my Dad on the phone the whole way telling us which direction to go. Thank you soo much Dad, you really helped us so much.

Although everything turned out fine, I doubt I will ever do that again. We had some snacks with us and not much water. Really, not a smart idea to take your family out into the desert - unprepared - in 100+ degree heat. Just really not smart.

View Larger Map
(we took the dirt road from 68 at the top of the map to the subdivision at the edge of the map near the A marker)

i got 2 quarters...

Zane lost his first tooth!(I should add: without dental help). His bottom tooth was loose for quite awhile before it just finally came out a couple of weekends ago. He was nervous about pulling it out himself, so he let it stay until it just finally fell out while he was eating pancakes. You're a big kid now!

grand canyon...

On Father's Day weekend, we headed up to the Grand Canyon North Rim. The National Parks are doing a few "Fee Free Weekends" this summer, so we thought we would take advantage. It's only about 3 hours away from here, and it was so nice to get away for a quick trip. Zane had a little anxiety about going there beforehand - he was worried about me tripping and falling on the edge and dropping the baby. I found some pictures of when I went there as a kid and showed him how there are railings everywhere, etc. He seemed to feel a little bit better about it.

Once we got there, I was the one with the problem! I have a fear of heights, but didn't think about it causing me any problems. Of course, the trails all are right on the edge of the canyon, and in some parts there are just narrow trails with drop offs on both sides. I almost had to turn around a few times. Zane loved it, and had no problems at all going right up to the edge, leaning over the railings, etc. (That only added to my stress!).

Despite that, we had a really nice time. The sky was overcast most of the time. It downpoured a couple of times, and was quite cool. The few times the sun came out was enough to give John a good sunburn, a little bit on Lily, and half of baby Evan's head. I was carrying him in a Baby Bjorn, but had a blanket covering his arms and legs. Unfortunately I didn't think about the top of his head - so just the side of his head and a little bit of his cheek got red. It wasn't bad at all though, just enough to make me feel guilty. I love spending time with my family, especially when everyone is happy!!
These first few are from Bright Angel Point. One of the places that I almost turned around. There is a little narrow section with railings, but drops on both sides. Scary.

Love that you can see the thunderstorm coming across the canyon. It started to rain right as we got back to the parking lot to head to the next hike.
Lily zonked out on the Bright Angel hike. Such a funny picture of her squashed face.
This is where we had our picnic. As you can see, the table is only a few feet from the edge of the canyon. No railings here. Yup, I was slightly freaked out.

Angel Window - this hike takes you out onto a piece of rock that has a large hole down in the middle of it. The only "family" picture we got - only you can't see Lily (on John's back) or Evan (on mom's front). This is what it looks like from the side. I couldn't believe I actually walked out onto it. Really.
These last few are from Cape Royal. The best place to view the North Rim in our opinion. You can see the river from here, and you get a nice, big view of everything.

Lily was finally done with the carrier at this point. She was such a trooper!

2 months old!...

We had Evan's 2 month appointment yesterday. He is a whopping 14 lbs. 6 oz. He is 24 1/4 in. long. This puts him at the 93% for weight, and 88% for height. The Dr. is always so thrilled when I bring my big babies in, it makes him so happy to have such chubby babies there. Evan was really not happy about the shots. He cried longer than any of my other babies have. So sad!

I asked the Dr. about Zane, and he was very encouraging. He said to get play therapy for him, and that a psych evaluation wouldn't be a bad idea. After we get some therapy started, they will be able to tell us if medication would be helpful or not. He said, a lot of times, that all it takes is la year or so of meds to help the child get through it and figure out how to deal and then they can go off. I am feeling really good about this course of action for us. There are no psychiatrists here taking new patients that we have found. So, any psychiatrists out there...come to St. George and you would have a TON of patients! We are going to have to get an evaluation in Salt Lake, but we should be able to find some good therapy here. Feeling really good about this, wish us luck!

love this baby...

Evan is growing so big! He is smiling and cooing all the time (when he is awake). I love watching my babies grow up. I think he looks so much like John - and it looks like he will even have the same color of greenish brown eyes. What a sweetie!

rough patch...

We've had some issues at our house. Since about 3 months before the baby was born, Zane was obviously having problems. He has a hard time managing his anger in general. I remember it starting at 13 months, him throwing himself on the floor and wailing and wailing on and on about things. We have learned a lot of what tips him off through the years, and he goes through phases - where he is able to manage it better, then something like a holiday comes up and it gets worse, etc.

Here we are in a rough phase again, only it has seemed to last a lot longer. Reminiscent of his 2 year old days. He used to try to hurt us at 2 years old - hit, bite, throw things, etc. As he got older, it was much less frequent, etc. It has returned with a vengeance (almost one major outburst every day again), only he is much stronger, and there are more people in the house (sister and baby) that can be accidentally in the way. Try and get a 6 year old to sit in the quiet chair (timeout), or go to his room to calm down. This last attempt was 1 hour on and off the chair before he could calm down enough to do his "time", including spit on the floor, and him stripping down to nekked and threatening to pee on me (don't know what that was about). Oh, the jekyll and hyde of a 6 year old. We've always had to deal with Zane, as he is a more intense in every way kind of kid- but this has been really hard on us this time around. If it doesn't turn around soon - I really think that we may need to get some professional help. I'm starting to keep a sort of "event" journal so that in case we do need to go that route, I have some sort of a baseline of his behavior. Please tell me this is a phase, and that major temper tantrums at 6 years old is still in the "realm of normal" - or tell me it's time for help.

p.s. I'm not looking for parenting advice, just sympathy.

happy 6th birthday zane!...

Today was the big day! Zane had a great birthday filled with Bakugan, Pokemon, Hot Wheels, and the biggest present of all - THE SLIME GUN. Yup, it is just what it says it is. Picture a big water type gun that shoots purple sticky gooey gunk. Yipppeeee! (and I bought this for him?) We had the usual cake and ice cream, and went swimming with the cousins. Then since Zane told us he was having a "chinese" birthday party - so, we went to Panda Express for dinner (about as "chinese" as it gets here). It was a great day. Happy Birthday my smart, loving, cute boy!

a day at the park...

We walked over to the park today and had a picnic. It was just a lover-ly day. Cuties!

happy 2nd birthday lily...

Lily turned two years old today! What a big girl she is already, it's crazy. She got lots of girly things to accessorize with, a fun doggie in a purse, a neat music player and book, and of course her favorite, play doh! Her other favorite thing lately is for me to polish her nails. She walks around holding out her hands and feet saying "polish, polish" all the time. I LOVE IT! She is such a sweet girl, so happy and makes me crack up all the time. She hardly throws a tantrum, and when she does it's so cute you can't be mad. She is learning new things and talking more and more each day. I am enjoying every minute of her growing up.

We had a small get together with family for dinner and cake/ice cream. I made her a Wall-E cake. She really loves the movie Wall-e. Cute story - one day while we were in the car, out of nowhere, she yells at the top of her voice, "Waaaaalllll-eeee.......Eeeeeeevvvvvvaaaaa". So cute! We love you so much little girl!

I love the video of her blowing out the candles. You can tell she was overwhelmed by everyone singing, she didn't really get what was going on. I could watch this over and over.

baby smiles (almost!)...

Evan is doing a lot of the cute whole face "almost" smiles. So far this is the best I've been able to catch on camera. What a sweetie, love him!