Our weekend get-away

On Wed (Dec 9th) morning, Scott handed me a piece of paper before he went in to work. He said it was an early birthday present. It ended up being the first clue on a treasure hunt that he had put together around the house. I searched high and low (literally) for all the clues and it finally led me to my suitcase. The last clue said that I needed to pack for 4 days and 3 nights at that I needed to be ready to leave by 4pm THAT NIGHT! I cried and cried (out of excitement!)
I couldn't believe it! I was so excited. Scott had worked out every single detail of a get-away weekend for us. The kids had babysitters all lined up. People were coming over to sleep at our house so the kids would be able to sleep in their own beds. Scott bought airline tickets and made hotel reservations...not to mention dinner reservations and entertainment. It was so much work for him...and he did it all by himself and kept it a secret from me (which is another huge task)! It was such an amazing suprise!
I knew we were flying there, but Scott didn't tell me where we were going. Finally, around 5pm, wonderful Amy showed up at our house and was ready to take over. Ty and Cam didn't even flinch as I said my goodbyes and walked out the door.
Finally as we were almost to the airport, Scott told me where we were going: LAS VEGAS!

It was a weekend full of yummy dinners (for my actual birthday dinner, he took me to PF Changs), two cirque du solei shows...umm amazing!, two movies (New Moon and Blind Side), lots of laughing...tons!, staying up til 2 in the morning, sleeping in til 10am, room service, the Titanic exhibit, the shark exhibit, CSI experience, and more. It couldn't have been more perfect! Here are a few pics. You can tell that Scott takes most of the pictures because as I looked back at them, they are all of me and we don't have any of him!


Me and Scotty in front of the Bellagio



Right before we saw "Ka". It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen!



Just being crazy...if you can't tell, I am posing just like the lady on the billboard behind me



I asked for a diet coke at lunch...and they brought me an iced tea on accident. I am embarrased to say that I actually spit it out on the table. Do people actually like that drink??



Just walkin' the strip. Chilly...but fun!



At the shark exhibit, there were some huge jellyfish. Scott asked me to do my best impression and, unfortunately for me, he snapped a quick picture!



We stayed at the Wynn...super nice! (side note...when we were checking in, they asked if we wanted to upgrade our room and it would be as cheap as an extra $25/night. The guy was really trying to sell us on it, saying it was such an incredible deal. We opted not to, just to save money. As he was finished up getting us all checked in, I casually asked if they had a car service that drives you to places on the strip. He just laughed at me. Seriously, I don't even think he answered me. Later I found out that they do have a service like that...but it is in a Rolls-Royce and costs something like $300 per ride. I think he thought that if we weren't willing to pay an extra $25, then we probably weren't interested. Ya think???



I love my Scotty! He is so great to me. He is my little Mary Poppins (practically perfect in every way)...except he would be the rock star version of her!

Maren

Last night was a dream.

I went to a piano recital that was so perfect. The programs, the setup, the kids, the pieces, the treats afterwards, etc. And it was all done by Maren. She so kindly let my piano student join her recital.

Then I came home and ate some cookies from a fabulous cookbook that Maren put together. It is my favorite cookbook in the world. Everything I have made from it has been delicious. And when I look at it, I think of my friends.

Then I cuddled up and watched a movie that Maren gave me. "A Cinderella Story" with Hilary Duff. Guilty pleasure. Love that movie.
I was tempted to make myself some delicious hot chocolate with candy canes that Maren gave me, but I decided to save it for tonight or tomorrow night. I can't wait.

Needless to say, I LOVE my friend Maren. She is simply amazing. I want to be just like her.

Bring on the Pictures

Cam and Ty LOVE playing/wrestling with each other. In this occasion, Ty was in the middle of belting out "Hot, hot, hot...hot chocolate" from the movie Polar Express. (Which reminds me that today Ty said he wanted to serve his mission at the north pole. I was laughing, but Scott so calmly said that there are lots of elves there that need the gospel).

They sure love each other...doesn't this look just like love :)


Ty found a great hiding spot!


When Ty ran off to go hide for "hide and seek", Cam wanted to join in. So he took off too. This was the best hiding spot he could come up with. I think it is perfect!


Carving "punkins" with daddy


Cam's contribution to the pumpkin carving was teeth marks in the lid


Ty loved squishing all the seeds around in there. He was literally up to his elbows in pumpkin guts!


Family photo.
I love the irony of it....


This is the cutest fireman I've ever seen!















My daughter from Denmark (okay...I trained her on the mission...but she does call me mum!) came and stayed with us for a day. Ty had a crush.















Ty is a budding musician. He loves to play the piano. He HAS to have piano music up there so he knows what he's playing (of course).














Cam is just about the cutest thing ever. He smiles ALL the time. For no reason. Just a happy kid.



My mom sent us a package with all the stuff for decorating pretzel sticks for halloween. Thanks Grandma! We had so much fun!

Christmas mix

Hi Everyone!

I am making myself a "Christmas Mix" of fun christmas songs, but somehow my mind is going blank. I only have a few that I can think of...so I need your help.
I want this to be an up-beat mix...and I already have the Carpenters christmas cd and lots of kenny g christmas music. So what are some of your favorite christmas songs??

So far I have:

All I Want For Christmas is You (Mariah??)
Baby It's Cold Outside
Tennessee Christmas (I guess this one is slow...but I love it!)

HELP!!

Oh, so proud

This post is about Scott.

I am so lucky to have Scott. He really is one in a million. Okay...so he might let his beard grow out a few weeks longer than I might have wanted...but, I'll take it! He is so amazing.

He is such a good dad. He bathes the kids when I have a headache (like tonight, for example). He makes dinner (or goes and gets food) when I haven't cooked anything. He always gives me a kiss in the morning before he leaves for work...he hasn't missed a day in the last 4 years. He tucks me in bed and waits til I fall asleep before he gets up and finally gets a minute to do whatever he wants to do. He cleans and organizes and puts away my clothes when I leave them on the floor. He folds the laundry because I hate doing it. When I cry, he makes me happy. And he makes me laugh so hard that I cry. But most of all, he has a rock solid testimony. I will often hear him teaching a gospel principle to Ty as he is getting him in his pajamas. Or he will tell me how wonderful the part of the book of mormon is that he is reading at the time. Or he will do an act of service when he is exhausted and really just wants to come home and relax. Or he will set an example for everyone around him.

That is what really has sparked this post. I went to a work dinner with Scott last night. Scott works in construction (for those that didn't know). The people he works with are...are...not exactly of the same standards as Scott. You might think that being with people that are rude, crass, unkind, undisciplined, and sometimes just downright disgusting, would somehow rub off on him after several years. I am here to tell you, that this is not so with Scott. I can't even express how much love and admiration I felt for Scott as I watched him interact with his co-workers. Everything about him was different than them...his language, his dress, his actions, his manners, etc. They even teased him when he wouldn't drink alcohol. They even took a picture, thinking it was so funny, when his virgin pina colada was delivered. But Scotty didn't flinch. He was so confident and true to himself and acted exactly as I would have imagined the Lord would have wanted him to act.

I just love him and want him to know that I noticed. I know others noticed too. You are a great example. To me. To our kids. To so many people.

And I am proud of you.

Funny Quotes

Lately I have been finding everything hilarious!! I mean, everything! Cam got his feet stuck in a drawer and I was laughing. Tyler was singing with a beater as a microphone...I was dieing. Cam stole one of Ty's toys and Tyler immediately fell to the floor crying. I laughed. Tyler accidentally backed up too far and fell into the open toy chest. I almost couldn't keep it together. I don't know why I feel this way. Especially when my children could get hurt. But here are a few things more things that I have been laughing at lately:

-Right now, Tyler is singing himself to sleep with a hearty rendition of "Santa Clause is Comin' to Town" that leads right into "Jingle Bells". I wonder if he will really nap today.

-Yesterday, I thought I swallowed a bug while Scott and I were watching 30 Rock. So I suddenly started coughing and choking. (This was real, people). My eyes watering, face red, hand on my throat, I choke out the words to Scott "I think I swallowed a bug or something". More coughing. Then Scott replies "I don't know why you swallowed a fly." (I didn't catch on) I said "That was really scary!" to which Scott says "I know...perhaps you'll die!" I couldn't keep from laughing...and still coughing. (Truly, I think I swallowed a bug and it bit my throat on the way down!)

-We have our boxes of Christmas stuff sitting in the corner of our room ready to be set free and spread Christmas cheer. (But Scott won't let me yet!) Anyway, Ty opened the box the other day and the stockings were sitting right on top. He asked what it was and asked if he could hold it. So he was rubbing the stocking up next to his cheek as I told him that we hang the stockings in our house and then Santa comes and fills it with yummy treats. He looked up at me and said "It's perfect." I didn't know perfection came that easily. Score.

-Last night, Tyler asked for a bedtime story and because I was flustered and had lots of things to clean up and still had to get Cam a bottle, I asked Scotty if he would do it. He agreed and went right in and started a story to Tyler. I went to the kitchen for just a minute to clean a few dishes and heated up a bottle. I didn't hear how the story started, but this is how it ended:
"Then, he jumped in the big digger and turned it on and he started smashing his friend with it. His mom yelled to him to stop because he had cut off his friends legs. So, he stopped and told his mom that he had been so frustrated that his friend wouldn't share. But his mom told him that even when he gets mad, or sad, he still needs to use his words and he can't be mean to his friends. The end." Tyler's face was shocked, scared and confused. I am not sure what the friend could have done earlier in the story to deserve that, but I am definitely going to take back the responsibility of bedtime stories.

-Tyler found a half of a lime in the fridge the other day and promptly took a bite. His face squished up and he twisted and turned his head until the taste was gone. He stood there for a minute and I said "Wow..did you like it?" "No!" I guess I just assumed that he throw it away, so when he walked away, I just went back to cleaning the kitchen (yes..it feels like I am ALWAYS cleaning the kitchen and yet, it is always dirty). Anyway, about one minute later I hear Tyler laughing so hard that it made actually get nervous for what he had just done. As I was trying to find where he was, I heard his say "Eat it again, Cam. It is soooo good!" I caught them just before Cam took another bite of the lime. Boy, they sure love each other.

Above is a picture of Ty and Cam just before bedtime. I usually would not let Ty sit on Cam like this, except Cam LOVES being tickled and he was absolutely laughing his head off.

I know I need to...

I don't really have the energy to post, but I haven't done it in so long. The days keep passing by so quickly and there are so many things I would love to post about. But I will keep this short and simple.

Halloween was great. We had so much fun at the many parties we attended. Ty loves "earning" a piece of candy each day by using the potty. I am pretty sure all that candy will last us a few years. Ty was a fireman and Cam was a tiger. They were so cute that I completely forgot to take any pictures...at every single party. Nope...not joking! I think that some of my friends might have taken some pictures...anyone?

I am sick. It isn't the swine flu. Just the good old, normal cold. But it still is awful. I do have to say though...I have the greatest friends. Two friends offered to bring dinner tonight and one actually wouldn't take no for an answer and brought over lunch for me. So sweet and thoughtful...it is so nice to have friends that are just like family out here!

I am supposed to run 12 miles on Saturday. My half marathon is next weekend...so I really do need to run. I hope I don't die on my run.

I just tried to post a picture and it isn't working. I am too exhausted to try to figure it out. I can barely function...and it is only 8:30pm! I am signing off and crawling right into bed and I hope I don't wake up for 12 hours! Sweet dreams!

I hope they call me on a mission...

Ty loves the song "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission" and I am pretty sure we have sung that for a bedtime song for the past three months. I catch him singing it to himself as he plays with cars. I heard him telling his dinosaurs the other day that they will "love goin' on a mission". But, tonight was the icing on the cake.

We were sitting on the rug in his room, telling stories and just about ready for a song and prayer before bedtime. I had told him a story about a frog who said a prayer to help him feel better (don't ask me how I come up with these things...) and so after the story was over, we starting talking about prayer. Totally out of the blue, Ty says "Mom, Heney Fader and Jesus want Ty ta go on a mission!" It was as clear as day. Ty is speaking really well lately, but this was like nothing I have heard. It was as if a 10 year old said it. I was so taken back that I just said "What?". He said it again, exactly like the first time. I know that it might sound funny, but I was really touched when he said that. I looked at him and I could just see him out there in his suit teaching people on the street. It almost got me choked up thinking about it.

And then he jumped on Cameron and I realized that we have a long way to go!

But I am still excited for that time!

One time!

I still shocks me. It is amazing. I only have to do or say something ONE time and it gets repeated over and over and over again.
A few weeks ago, Ty and I were brushing our teeth together and I stopped and ran my fingers through my hair while my toothbrush was still hanging from my mouth. Not a big deal. Ty laughed and copied me. And now, he does that EVERY SINGLE TIME he brushes his teeth. He consistently brushes and brushes and then right before he is done he stops and runs his fingers back through his hair and then takes his toothbrush out to spit. I laugh every time (which doesn't help at all with wanting him to stop!)

I am going to need to be more careful around that little monkey!

Some New Stuff...

Well, I have realized that lately I have mostly been posting about all the mischevious things that Ty and Cam do and I haven't really been posting about all the funny, cute things they do. They are really so darling and they are SO much fun. Here are a few things they have been doing lately:

*Cam says "Haaa!" in a high pitched voice when you walk in the room as if to say "Hi!" just the way I say it.
*Tyler knows that the rule about eating is that we only eat in the kitchen. So lately he has been holding his snack in his hand and keeping one foot on the tile and scooting his other foot so far away he is practically doing the splits so that he can try to still see what is going on in the family room. Does this remind you of anyone (Nate)??? Always trying to see how far he can stretch the rules...great!
*When Scott blows his nose, Ty oftens gets wide eyes and asks "Is dad a elephant?" I love it.
*We had a FHE lesson last week about Nephi building the ship and I got out Ty/Cam's tools so that we could have a "visual aid". The next day when I asked Ty what he wanted to play, Ty grabbed the tool box and said "Mom, let's play Nephi and build a ship!" He still often plays "Nephi"....I am just glad that we didn't tell him about how Nephi shocks his brothers or how the brothers bind and beat Nephi. I think that we will wait for that lesson...maybe until he is 18.
*Scott has started playing Hide and Seek with Ty and Cam. Ooooohhh! If there is ever a time when you should see the McPhie household, it is during Hide and Seek time. There are the absolute cutest giggles and squeals as they run around the house to find a hiding spot. Basically Ty just runs around and sits in a corner somewhere and Cam is only one step behind him. It is so cute to see little sets of toes sticking out from under blankets or to see our comforter on our bed with a big buldge and hear Ty say "Come on Cam! Sssshhh!" I took the cutest picture of both the boys hiding under the computer desk. As soon as Scott finds them, they scream and he tickles. It is no wonder that Ty asks to play EVERY DAY!
*Cameron climbs on everything! Anything he can't climb on, he pushes a toy over to step on it, so that he can climp up. This kid...he is a clever one! He climbs on beds, couches, in laundry baskets, and I even found him almost on top of the kitchen table!
*Both kiddos did so well during conference! I didn't expect them to last long, but they were so good and quiet during all four sessions! On Sunday morning, we snuggled up in blankets in our pajamas for the first session and I snapped a quick picture of Ty and Scotty!


Ty and Dad during conference


Ty making a cute little face at dinner time



Ty and Cam playing hide and seek


I love this picture! This is what happens when Scott puts jammies on the kids...Cameron's pants become Tyler's kapris! I really do love how much Scotty does for our family!

Ode to my Momma Bear

The nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me was "You remind me so much of your mom". If it were true, it would be like a dream come true for me. I want to be like my mom more than anyone else I know. She is the most amazing person!
My mom is/was the perfect mom. She always had little games or treasure hunts for us when we got home from school. She sat down and helped us with our homework. She always made me laugh even when I came home from school crying. I knew I could always talk to her, even when I had done something wrong. She would lay on our bed at night and read us a chapter from whatever book we were reading and she always made the book so interesting that we didn't want her to stop reading and kept begging for another chapter. She made a home cooked dinner pretty much every single night...and even took special requests some nights! She taught me how to work hard and to feel proud of what I had accomplished. She taught me how to clean and how to LOVE a clean home. She taught me how to love my brothers and sisters and how to do little acts of service for them. She is the one person I think of when I think about charity. Even now, when I call home on sundays, there is hardly a sunday that they haven't invited someone over for dinner...a new family in the ward, an single mom, and elderly couple, family that goes to BYU-I, the singles branch, etc. She always wants to give and to make other people feel welcome and loved. She always made FHE so fun and even on weekends I would rather have spent time at home playing games and eating popcorn (mom's famous caramel corn) because there was never a dull moment when my mom was around.
My mom always shared her testimony. I never doubted that my mom knew the church was true. She let me lean on her testimony until I got my own. She helped me through hard times, and I knew I could always trust her. I knew that she prayed for me. I would overhear her personal prayers sometimes (or her prayers with my dad) and they would pray for all of the kids individually. I knew my mom fasted for me many times. I felt so strongly the power of her fasts and prayers when I was on my mission and I know that she helped me through some extremely difficult days/weeks/months because of her faith. My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader and always told me that I could do things that even I didn't think were possible. My mom is the kind of person that everyone wants to be around because she always makes you feel better, smarter, and happier when you are with her. My mom makes every holiday so memorable and amazing. So many of my happiest childhood memories have Kenny G playing in the background, because my mom loved Kenny G. And now I listen to Kenny every day.
My mom was a complete lifesaver for me after I had Tyler and I struggled to find my feet and feel comfortable with having a new baby. When Cameron was born, my mom cleaned my house from top to bottom and still made the dinners, took care of me, and entertained a wild and needy 1 1/2 yr old, got up with the baby every single night, planted a garden for me, etc, etc. I am still in awe at the things that my mother can do. My mom taught me to always go to Heavenly Father for what we need and have faith that we would receive the blessings.

This list doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the ways that my mom has blessed my life. My mom is simply amazing. And the only problem with that, is that I know I will never compare to what a tremendous mom she is. But I will always try. That is my goal: Be like my mom.
I love you so much mom and I am so grateful that you are my mom. I am so blessed to be able to know you and learn from you. Thanks for your example for me and for my family. Thanks for loving me and for helping me become who I am today.
I love you. Happy Birthday!

Is this possible?

I was just telling Scott how excited I am that we are almost to October and we get to go to the pumpkin patch and do all the fun fall stuff. Then I randomly found this picture of our family last year right around this time.
I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW FAST TIME FLIES!!! Is it really possible that one year ago I had a newborn?? No way! Crazy. Crazy, I tell you!

Pen and Cinnamon

Here are a few things that Ty has been up to last week:
On Tuesday he found a pen laying around and colored on our couch cushions.
On Wednesday he took the cinnamon from the table and dumped it all over the front room.

These two things are enough to push a mom to her limits. Luckily, the rest of the week went well. I am excitedly waiting to find out what this week's adventures will be.






(Yes it was inside the toy chest too!)





(I should have taken more pictures but there were about ten of these little "ant hills" around the room. )
Just FYI...you can vaccum cinnamon up, but it will still leave a dark film all over. So you will still need to scrub the carpet down (even if you just got it cleaned last week) and you will still need to scrub the couch (even if you just finished getting the pen off of it the night before)!


Another quick piece of advice: Don't put the vanilla right next to the apple cider vinegar in your cupboard. When you are in a hurry to make smoothies for lunch, you might just accidentally grab the apple cider vinegar instead of vanilla. It doesn't taste the same.

I think

I think that no one should have to go to work; I hate being so lonely during the day.

I think that kids should come already potty trained; I have changed more dirty diapers than I ever thought was possible in a day.

I think that Christmas should be twice a year; One whole year is too long to wait and I miss it so much.

I think that sweets should be the new health food; I don't want to eat brocoli, I want to eat ice cream!

I think that when you call someone on the phone they should HAVE to answer; I have called Scotty so many times today and he hasn't picked up his phone (side effect of being alone)

I think that as soon as you lay down on the bed to take a nap, you should be able to fall right asleep; I hate laying there thinking of all the things I should be doing instead of napping and then finally feeling like I am just on the verge of falling asleep and then hearing the kids wake up from naps.

I think that every month you should be allowed to get one new item of clothing for free from any store you want; I want lots of new clothes and shoes, but I don't want to pay for them.

I think that all houses should have a yard; not having a yard stinks.

I think that every family member should have to live right next to you or on your street (or we could build huge houses and everyone just lives all together); I miss my family.

I think that chapstick and lipgloss should be edible; everytime I put in on I always wish I could eat it.

I think that it should be illegal for it to start raining two minutes into a walk to the park after it took ten minutes to get diapers changed, shoes on, water bottles, snacks, and kids all in the stroller. Yes, I think the weather should go to jail. Or maybe just get a ticket.

I think that all music should be Kenny G or christmas music; You can only imagine how I feel about the Kenny G Christmas cd I have.

I think that every person should have a little person that just wakes up from a nap and says "Can I snuggy you please?" and then gives you the biggest hug you can think of; that is what just happened to me.

Even still, my life is happy, full, and rewarding. I am a lucky gal.

EGG-citing News

We got our carpets cleaned today!!!
Why? Isn't this the second time in less than six months? Can't you keep your house clean, Rachel??

Well, apparently not.

About a week ago, I was was back in our bedroom folding laundry and looking online for a cute idea for a birthday cake for Cameron. I heard the kids laughing in the front room...I mean, really laughing hard...and thought "How cute! They are playing together!"

How wrong I was.

I walked in to find the carton of eggs in the middle of the floor, half empty, and Ty with one in his hand ready to smash it into the carpet. I looked around the room and found that we had about 6 or 7 eggs ALL OVER the family room. We had one on the couch, several covering the carpet, the wall, the door, AAAHHH! Wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't smeared them all over the floor after breaking them. Cameron was crawling through the mess, so he had tracked it all over and it was all over both of their clothes. I did get a couple pictures taken before spending my afternoon trying to clean it up....but it didn't work very well. I thought I had gotten it all, but we would randomly feel parts of the carpet that were hardened with egg yolk. Then, Scott found little drops of egg yolk splattered all over another part of the front room....and that was enough to push me over the edge and I decided to get the carpets cleaned.

Luckily, both kids are still alive :)

(By the way, when I told Scott, his first words were "I bet Cameron thinks that Ty is the coolest brother ever! Then he told me that he did that once when he was little, so we probably had it coming...I let him know that he would be cleaning up any future messes that come because of the crazy things he did as a kid!)

ONE

Has it really been ONE entire year? It feels like maybe ONE month!
We have a ONE-derful ONE year old now! Cameron is such an incredible, amazing little guy and he just keeps getting cuter and cuter every day.
We had a fun little birthday party for Cameron with our Mother's group (thanks to everyone who came and made it such a fun day!) and then we had another little party when Scott got home from work. The missionaries came over for dinner and then we had a puppy birthday cake and opened a few little presents (for which Tyler was more excited than Cameron!)
We sure love our little Cam-bam and we feel lucky to have him in our family. He has a smile that can stop the Earth in orbit! He can take pretty much any kind of fall, hit, bump, or bodyslam (thanks to Ty-ty). When he laughs, it just changes the mood of any situation. We will go to great lengths to get Cam to give us a little giggle! Cameron is such a peacemaker and wants everyone around him to be happy. Often times, when Tyler is in time-out, Cameron will crawl over to the corner and giggle at Tyler and Ty will almost immediately stop crying and smile at Cam. He has such a great spirit and we love him so much!
We are ONE lucky family!

A Family Outing

Last weekend we decided to take a little family outing to San Francisco and Alcatraz. It was fun-filled and exhausting all at the same time.
We got tickets and arrived in San Fransisco just in time to hop on the boat. Tyler was thrilled to be riding on the boat and loving every minute of the ten minute ride over to Alcatraz. In fact, he didn't want to get off and was pretty disappointed when we told him he couldn't stay on the boat. We wandered around the island and took the audio tour of the main cell building. It was actually really fascinating! The kids did great, considering the fact that they were both tired and hungry and the tour was over an hour long. We had headphones on and we were really intrigued by the history of the prison, so we might not have noticed if they weren't being great :)
After taking the boat back, we ate dinner at Rainforest Cafe...and fun restaurant with a jungle atmosphere and lots of animals all around the tables. We got a table back in a little "cave" and there were snakes that hung from the trees and big huge butterflies flapping their wings. Tyler loved it! He even got so excited when a large tree frog came around to give him a hug. We thought he would be terrified, but he jumped right down from the table and gave him a big hug.
Then I changed the kids into their pajamas after dinner and they both fell asleep in the car on the way home. It was such a fun day!



A family photo



This is a happy little munchkin


Not too far off, is it??


Three handsome devils!


Momma and Cub

Book of Mormon Challenge

So our ward relief society issued a challenge to read the book of mormon in 90 days. They gave us a bookmark and it had each day on it and exactly what page we should be up to. The challenge ended today and I was able to complete it!
I have to say, it was one of the greatest experiences I have had in a long time. I felt so strongly that Heavenly Father was helping me to find the time to read my pages. It didn't seem as hard to stay awake at night to get my reading done. It didn't seem as hard to wake up early and read and start my day. I felt like I found patience when I truly had none left to give. I felt more charitable towards others. I was just happier (most of the time :). It is really amazing to look back and see that the circumstances of my life didn't really change at all (I still have a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 yr old that really give me a run for my money) but I just felt like I had added strength and peace and desire to do good. It was a real life changing and testimony building experience for me!
I'll admit that most of the time, the Book of Mormon is not always the most interesting book to read. It wasn't that kind of book that I just couldn't wait until the kids went down for a nap so that I could pick it up and find out what happens next. But that is totally how I felt this time. It suddenly became so real to me and it was interesting to see how all the stories fit together. (Unlike other times, when I would open the book and think "Now what is going on here? Who is that person?")
It was just such a neat experience. I am so thankful that I was able to do that and it changed me so much that I have decided that I am going to make myself another bookmark and see if I can do it again before the end of the year!

Honesty is the best policy

Usually Scott always tells me that he thinks I look really "cute" when I first wake up in the morning. But this morning, I got the honest opinion of a two year old.
I walked into the boy's room right after I rolled out of bed. I opened the door and Ty said "Hi Mom! Wow! Your hair looks...umm...spikey!" And then came the laughter. He doubled over laughing which, of course, made Cameron laugh too. What else could I do but laugh with them (especially after I looked at my hair in the mirror!)

I feel okay about Tyler telling me that my hair looked awful this morning, because recently he has been just randomly telling me "Momma, you're pretty".

Tyler told me yesterday that he loves the baby, but not when he takes his toys.

He also just woke up from his nap and came in and told me that his fingers hurt. I said "Oh, I am so sorry. What can we do to make them feel better?" He put his finger to chin (in a thinking position) and said "I know! We should watch a movie!

Man, I love that kid.

On to Cameron....

He is walking! WALKING! I can't believe it. It almost seems impossible that I could have two toddlers. Cam LOVES pushing the little "lion" that we have...a walker that looks like a lion and has music to it when we walk with it. It was Tyler's but it hasn't been used in awhile...except now, of course, Tyler really wants to play with his lion. So there have been a few lessons on sharing....
Cameron walks up and down our complex driveway...so many times a day that I can't even count! Tyler runs along side him and helps steer the lion if it starts heading for a pole or something. They are quite the team. But man oh man...as soon as it is time to come inside or put the lion away, Cam brings out the big guns. I talking loud screams, flailing arms and legs, water works, EVERYTHING! This kid sure knows what he wants. The other day, a neighbor actually came out of her house to make sure everything was okay because of Cam's screaming when I started to put the lion away. She said it sounded like he had been seriously injured. Cam sure is quite the drama king.

Poor kid is still teething. I don't know how long those blisters/swollen gums will last but they are still blackish/purpleish in the back and I keep thinking those molars are going to pop through any day, but not yet. He is being such a champ, considering how painful that must be.
He loves to chew on everything and it is pretty cute to see him knawing on stuffed animals or other toys.
He loves his daddy and he reaches for him and snuggles right into his shoulder as soon as Scott picks him up when he gets home from work. Often times, Cam will just lay there and coo on Scott's shoulders for several minutes. These boys love their dad!

Playing Trucks

I have no words.
Nothing could accurately describe how cute Ty is when he is playing trucks.
I don't know what the headlamp is for, but he insisted on having it.

I laugh each time I look at this picture!

This is a quick snap of the boys during "Friday Pizza and Movie" night.
Ty looks forward to this all day. In fact, today he spent probably thirty minutes going through the disney movies thinking about what movie he wanted to watch for tonight. When he finally decided on Pinnochio, he HAD to call dad to see if he wanted to watch "nochio when you get home". He is such a cute little kid.
We have loved starting this fun little family tradition!

Dear Mom

Dear Mom,

I have been in the family for almost a year now and I feel like it is taking you EXTRA long to figure out why I do the things I do. So I thought I would help you out. Here is a list of a few things you seem to be "misunderstanding":

*I actually LOVE having food in my hair, especially spaghetti sauce. So you don't have to wipe it off every time I get some up there.

*Do you really think that I like the whole wheat double fiber bread? YUCK! I would rather wait til eating time is over and then find some paper to eat. So next time, don't fish the paper out of my mouth; it's my lunch!

*When you take away toys like the stapler or scissors, it makes me so mad that I scream a blood curdling scream and clench my fists together and let my whole body shake. So next time you see me do that, just give me back whatever you took away.

*I want to help you clean the kitchen. That is why I am always getting into the cleaners. Nothing personal, but you could keep the kitchen floor a little bit cleaner (who throws all that food onto the floor??)

*I have a great idea about where to keep our clothes. Instead of keeping them in the drawers, lets try just having them thrown all over the floor. You keep picking them up and putting them away just after I get them all out. You have no idea how tiring it is to keep taking them all out! Next time, give it a few days and I am sure you will love my idea!

*Why do you keep closing the bathroom door??? That is my favorite place to go! And it has my favorite hiding spot: the toilet! Man, it took you so long to find the phone yesterday. And you should have seen how cool it looked in there. I don't understand why you were so upset....

*I am a pretty stubborn guy. So when you say "You may not put your hand in your dirty diaper while I am changing you" what do you think I am going to do? Next time, don't tell me what I can't do...cause you and I both know that I am not afraid to do it!

*I love playing with Tyler. He is such a great brother. He is getting much better about sharing and playing with me. But do you think you could ask him to stop body-slamming me? That is usually where things start to go south....

*When you put me in my crib and I cry and pound on the wall, that means that I don't want to take a nap. Please just come in and get me and then give me 100% of your attention and don't even think of setting me down and keep bouncing or swinging me so that I don't have enough time to think about how tired I am. Is that too much to ask?

*Oh yeah, and one more thing. I am tired of trying to squeeze into six month clothing just because you don't want to do the laundry!

This is just a short list and once you master these things I will give you a new list. Keep up the good work!

Love,
Cameron

Cruel Crows and Chocolate Thunder

So this post contains two hilarious stories....maybe they won't be so funny once I write them, but they were incredibly funny when they happened.

First, Ty has really taken a liking to chasing the crows at the park we go to. We generally go to a school playground and so there is a big open field and he runs like crazy and chases all the crows away. On Friday, he was doing just that! This kid can run longer than I have ever imagined is possible. It is more like sprints. He sees a few crows gathered near each other and he runs as fas as he can to make them fly away. Then he laughs really hard and takes a little rest to let them land somewhere...and off he goes to chase them away again. Anyway, on Friday there was one particular crow that wouldn't really "fly" away, he would just run away or barely come off the ground and land 10 or 15 ft from where he was before. Ty kept running at him to make him really take off and fly away, but he just wouldn't do it. Ty chased him all the way across the field, across the playground, and finally the bird flew up on top of one of the buildings. The crow sat on top of the building right at the very edge as if to taunt Tyler...and that is exactly how Tyler felt. He kept jumping and waving his hands at him to try to scare him. Then he started yelling "Boo, Crow!" Nothing worked. It was exactly at this point that I remembered thinking, I bet this crow is getting pretty annoyed that Ty won't leave him alone. I hope he doesn't do anything mean to him....Ty was standing right exactly underneath him and the crow turned around and went to the bathroom....alot! LUCKILY...very luckily, Ty had just turned to me to ask me for help in scaring the crow and he took one tiny step away so it just missed his head....I mean, barely missed his head! Ty looked down and saw what happened and exclaimed "Hey! He went potty on me!" It was really funny...and really mean of the crow...and then really funny again!

Next story....Scott and I went to dinner last night (thanks to our friends Jen and Luke who came over to watch the kids) and we had so much fun. I always end up feeling like a 12 yr old girl who can't stop giggling when I go on dates with Scotty. Anyway, at the end of our dinner our waiter came over and said, "Can I interest you in some dessert? Perhaps some cheesecake or some chocolate thunder?" I don't know what came over me, but without thinking I said "Oh, that's okay. He's (pointing to Scott) my chocolate thunder!" Scott just gave me a confused look and then we both just started laughing so hard. I could not stop the tears from coming...oh man it was so funny. The waiter just said "I'll go get the check" and let us laugh our little hearts out! Then, walking out to the car, I was still ready to fall over from laughter at any moment, Scott proudly said "I have always wanted a girl to publicly announce that I was her chocolate thunder. So thanks, honey!"
Well, baby....you truly are my chocolate thunder!!

Just Saying "Hello"

Yesterday, I was out walking around our property and cleaning up the laundry room as part of our job here. Cameron was taking a nap and Ty was just walking around with me, helping me pick up trash, and just talking to himself. I love hearing what he pretends to do and be...Anyway, I was wiping down the washing machines and I heard him say "Well, hello bug. Hi there bug" and start talking to this "bug" which I assumed was imaginary since he had been talking to himself all along. But when I looked over, I saw he was talking to a cockroach. It was flipped over on his back and was wiggling his legs desperately to flip over...which made him look all the more disgusting. Of course I squealed then told Ty that we don't talk to cockroaches. I think that lesson is almost as important as not talking to strangers!

Name Calling

Tyler has just recently made the connection that mom and dad also go by Rachel and Scott. He was so funny the other day because he was trying to tell Scott that Cameron was awake in his crib, and he was standing right at Scott's leg and kind of pulling on his pants and saying "Dad, baby is awake. Dad....dad..." and then suddenly "SCOTT! Baby is awake, Scott!" Scott just totally started laughing. I didn't know that he knew our names!
He has also insisted that I call him "cheetah" for a whole afternoon. When I slipped and said "Ty, will you put your books away?", he promptly corrected me and said "No, mom. I not Ty. I'n cheetah. Cheetah put the books away!"
I'm okay with that...as long as the books get put away!!

Just life...

So, I know I haven't posted in soooo long! And every day there is something so adorable or funny or sad that happens and I always think "Oh, I should post about this on my blog." And then another day passes and I don't do it.
So this post is me trying to think of all the things that have happened lately that are note-worthy:

-Ty had his first ever ear infection...and then allergic reaction to his medicine. About 12 hours after he started on amox he broke out in hives all over his body. He was such a trooper and watched Cars with only a couple times saying things like "Mom, I am pretty itchy".

-Cam pulled my straightener off the bathroom counter onto his arm on Sunday morning. Man oh man...you should have seen the waterworks. I was SOBBING! Cam actually did quite well. We held some frozen cheese on it and gave him some Tylenol and he did great. Of course, now, whenever I straighten my hair Ty reminds me that Cam got burned and that he will go get the cheese if I need him too.

-Ty and Cam are finally sleeping in the same room. It was a painful week or so, but now it is wonderful!! I love hearing them babble at night or early in the morning. Usually I wake up to Tyler laughing so hard! He thinks it is funny because when Cameron stands up at the crib his head just barely pokes over the rail so you can see his eyes. It is super cute and I would probably wake up giggling too! Last night as I walked past their door I hear Ty say "Okay, baby. Go to sleep!" I love that Ty calls Cam "baby" still. It makes me laugh every time I hear it.

-Cam stands on his own now...or he is learning to stand. And he is so close to walking. He took two steps the other day! But he is still wobbly enough, that I think it will be a few more weeks before he actually takes off!

-Ty has started to love helping me cook dinner. He gets his little apron on and pulls the chair up to the counter and says "Lets whip up...what mom?" I can't do anything now without his help! We had a huge breakdown a few nights ago, because I opened the microwave and he "neeeeeeded to do it!"

-Ty is sooo...what is the word? Persistant? Stubborn? Strong-willed? Take your pick. He loves to say that he will do things "all by myself!" He spent a FULL five minutes trying to take off his own pajama shirt the other morning. It was totally stuck on his head and he would NOT let me help him. I waited for a few seconds and then calmly asked "Would you like help now?" Nope! He still said "All by myself!" So Cam and I went in to get some breakfast and Ty wandered out later and finally asked for help. I should have taken a picture of the shirt stuck on his head...it was too funny. But I love his determination to succeed!

-Both boys absolutely can not wait until Scott comes home every day. Seriously. Ty sits on the toy chest and watches through the window for Scott to pull up. He jumps and laughs and yells YEEAAAA as Scott walks in the door. And Cam crawls as fast as he can and pulls himself on Scotty's leg. It is truly an amazing sight to see. One time last week I actually got choked up watching it. These boys absolutely adore their dad!

-We had a pizza and a movie night last Saturday and Tyler was in heaven. We first got to go for a little swim in the pool...cause it was such a hot day and I just thought that it would be a nice way to the end Saturday. Then we came home, jumped in the shower, got in our pajamas, sat down in the front room with pizza, and watched Toy Story. Tyler HAD to sit next to dad and I snapped a picture of the three boys that I will have to post later (I don't know where the camera is right now...) It was a fun night.

-Scotty took me out on a nice date for our anniversary! I can't believe it has been four years! I am the luckiest girl in the world....no doubt about it! We went to The Melting Pot and it was just divine! Then we went and saw Up. It was such a fun night. Gosh I love Scotty!

-I know I still need to post all my pictures from our family vacation to Yellowstone. It was so much fun! I loved being there with all the family and meeting the new little neices and nephews. I have such an amazing family!

I am sure there are tons of things I am missing...so I will just have to post them as I remember! And hopefully soon I will get some new pictures up!

A tender moment

There is just something magical about letting a little baby fall asleep on you. I don't do it very often because I want Cameron to learn to fall asleep in his bed, but every so often I love watching his eyes slowly start closing and watching his whole body just curl up into mine. Oh...it is one of life's precious moments.