Youth Conference

Last week was our ward youth conference at Bear Lake.  We have spent the last month planning for it and it was nice to get up there and see it all come together.  The theme was survivor so we split them into two tribes and gave them bandanas and shirts (courtesy of Jeff).

I rode up on Thursday with one of the other leaders.  Everyone else had gone up on Wednesday. When we got to Bear Lake, it was freezing.  I had been watching the weather and knew it was going to be a cold week so I had plenty of warm clothes.  I have to admit that it worked out nice missing the first night considering they got rained on and were freezing cold.  The YW were in charge of Thursday so we had the youth play Survivor games on the beach.  They turned out really well.  I forgot how competitive the youth can be.  We had a sand castle building contest, a couple of relays, a human pyramid contest, and my favorite--the eating competition.

 The kids had to race the person on the other team to eat whatever was on the plate in front of them first.  Some of the items were a glob of mayo, boiled eggs, tuna fish, jalapeno peppers, pickles, and cans of pop.  I was surprised they ate everything--I was gagging just watching them.

We gave them some free time at the beach and then headed back to camp. We made taco salad for dinner.  That night, we were in charge of a fireside.  We did a hold to the rod theme and had them walk blindfolded while holding on to a rope.  The bishop gave a devotional after. I thought it turned out well minus the two kids who fell in the fire pit--there was no fire, but there were sharp rocks.

Friday and Saturday the YM were in charge.  We went to Minnetonka Caves on Friday and then spent the rest of the day at the lake.  We had temperatures around 75.  It was a perfect day for boating and warming up.  The girls talked me and Natalie (YW pres) into going on the 5 person water weenie.  Bad idea--we kept trying to tell the drivers to cut it and that we were done, but apparently they thought that meant we wanted to die(that's what they claimed).  We all ended up in the freezing water.  I don't remember ever being that cold--I couldn't breath for what felt like forever.  It was SO stinking cold.
Here is Nad-Brad at the beach (the girls gave us nicknames-mine was A-train):

We got shakes and had yummy dutch oven cooking on Friday night.  Everyone got fried that day and one of our girls got really dehydrated.  We thought we were going to have to take her to the ER, but after drinking a ton and getting a priesthood blessing, she improved enough.  It was a crazy night, but the youth wanted to do a testimony meeting anyway.  It was awesome and so spiritual.  Our ward is lucky to have such amazing youth--they are so strong and I have learned so much from them.   It was fun being on a sort of mini vacation.  I had so much fun getting to know the girls better.  We played games, talked, and did hair trains.  One of the girls told me I looked like death when we were up till 1 am.  Guess that's what happens when you're a mom and not used to staying up so late every night.

Remember the days in high school when you had to go the restroom in a group-well we did that too. We smelled like campfire by the end and it was so nice to shower once we were home.  I thought it was a perfect mix of fun and spiritualness and I hope it is something the youth will always remember.

The Disappearing Bean....

On Friday night, I was on the phone talking to a friend.  When I got off the phone, I went to check on Claire--she had moved a chair over to the counter and was playing with some red beans that I keep in a jar for decoration.  The first thing she says to me is "bean up my nose".  Sure enough, I look up her nose and I can see the bean.  I tried to have her blow her nose, but it wouldn't come out.  I checked again and it was a lot higher.  It was about 8:45 p.m. so we hurried into KidsCare since they close at 10.    I thought it would be a fairly quick procedure and had no idea at this point how long of a night it was going to be. We had to wait for half an hour with some really sick kids.  I was wishing there was a separate place we could be since that's all I wanted was to get sick kids.  We eventually got in to the office and waited at least another half hour--the kids were both so tired and ornery.  The doctor came in, looked up her nose and couldn't see it.  We tried a couple of other things, but still couldn't find it.  There was only so much they could do so he recommended we go to Primary Children's to make sure they got it out--it was especially bad since it was something organic.

I dropped Jaxon off at my brother's house at 11:00 and drove to Primary's.  At least we pick good nights--my sister is an ER nurse at Primary's and happened to be working.  We've been to Primary's twice--once for this and once for Jaxon's concussion-both times my sister has been working.  I called her and let her know we were on our way.  Luckily there was no wait since the Friday before it was a 2-3 hour wait.  It was pretty much the same story-they couldn't find the bean.  Poor Claire--we had to keep waking her up to stick something else up her nose.  They decided to do a procedure to try and get it out.   They stuck a catheter up her nose, blew up a little balloon, and pulled it out. They had to hold her down the whole time and Claire was saying, "Amy, Amy, no, no, hold me." ( I assured the nurses and doctors the she was my child even though she doesn't call me mom).   It's so hard to watch your child being held down and crying for you.  Unfortunately nothing came out.  It was about 1 a.m. and Claire and I were both exhausted.  The doctors told us to watch carefully for a fever, a strong smell, or swelling in case it's still up there.  It also could've fallen out or she could have swallowed it.  We left the hospital at about 1:30.  She keeps telling everyone how she put a bean up her nose and how the doctor got it out.  She loved having "Mashelle" as her nurse which I'm glad she didn't seem too upset over everything she went through. She told me the next morning, "I put 1, 2, 3, 5 beans up my nose."  Needless to say, there are no longer red beans on my counter.  We have no clue what happened to it, but I'm hoping she will not try it again.

To top off the weekend, Jaxon bumped his mouth and has a chipped tooth.  He keeps telling me that he can't touch his top and bottom teeth together anymore. I'll be taking him to the dentist this week.  I came down with something on Saturday, probably from the Kids Care.  We still managed to have some fun.  We had a luncheon at my Grandma's and Grandpa's house, Jaxon played in his last soccer game and got a trophy that he LOVES and I took the day off on Sunday and got some much needed rest and am feeling much better.  At least we had one healthy person in our family-thanks hon for taking good care of us.  I think we have all recovered from the weekend.

Memorial Day!

I have always loved having a summer birthday and having it near Memorial Day.  It seems like there are always lots of fun things going on and lots of people to celebrate with.  This year my birthday was on Memorial Day and we headed to St. George for the weekend.  We were glad Jeff's mom was able to come with us.

Jeff and I went to more movies during that weekend than I have probably been to this whole year.  Here is my list starting with my favorite and on down:

-----Date Night
-----Shrek 3
-----Iron Man 2
-----Robin Hood
-----Prince of Persia

We swam everyday and got some much needed color.  We also spent time relaxing at the house, reading, and enjoying the outdoors.

We added some new traditions.....Pirate Island Pizza and Grandma Tobler's Bakery (they both get three yum's from me).

The one thing I wanted to do for my birthday was to shop at H &M.  In my opinion, it's THE best store and I had birthday money to spend.  We made the trek to Vegas, ate at a buffet, and I shopped as long as I could.  It was a long day, especially for the kids, but they were troopers and it was worth the trip down there.  I found some great deals and am loving my new buys.

On my birthday, we swam and went to lunch and Target (my second favorite store, but my b-day money was gone by that point).  Jeff and I went on a date---we ate at a Mexican restaurant and went to the movie Date Night which kept me laughing.

When we got back from our date, the kids had decorated the house and were so excited to surprise me. Kids sure make birthdays fun!  We had birthday cake to finish off the night.

I feel so grateful for the life that I have.  I have the best husband and kids, we both have amazing families, and I have great friends. I'm looking forward to another exciting year--I want to enjoy my last year of twenties!!  

End of Preschool...

Jaxon finished up his first year of preschool a few weeks ago.  I have been so impressed with the preschool and his teachers.  He learned a lot and made some great friends.  The first thing they would do every day when they went into their classroom was a drawing of whatever they wanted.  His teachers would write down what each picture was.  On his last day, we got the book with all his drawings, and I had so much fun looking back at his artwork throughout the year.  Some of my favorite things he said to describe his pictures were:  "It's a lobby, it's what you put buildings on", "It's our neighbors body" ( I couldn't tell from the drawing who it was, but it cracked me up) and "This is a not to do naughty stuff sign".

Jaxon looking so grown up in his school picture-I love how dark his eyes are!

He told me his favorite things from the year were when the fire engine came to visit his preschool and when they got to go on miniature horse rides.

For their graduation, they had a party at Classic Skating.  I don't think I've been there since high school--they still do the snowball and play the same music.  Not that I'm complaining, I love 80's music.  Jeff was at work so it was just me and the kids.  We attempted roller skating but it was harder than I thought trying to keep the kids and myself upright.  We had fun trying anyway. The kids spent most of their time jumping in the bounce houses and playing in the Jungle playland.

Jaxon with one of his teachers Ms. Cameon.  He is sure going to miss his teachers and all his friends, but he gets to go back for another year and is already asking me how long until preschool starts again.    

Soccer Season!!

We let Jaxon pick between playing soccer and tee ball this spring.  He chose soccer and is playing on a team with the boys in his primary class.    

He was so excited when he got his uniform he wanted to wear it all day.  Notice that it's on backwards--that was so he could see his number!  

Sometimes I think he stays in the back so he doesn't have to kick the ball. He gets distracted at times and we have to remind him to watch the ball, but he is doing better each game. They look so cute in their uniforms chasing the ball.  I love it!

    

Jaxon's favorite parts about playing soccer--getting a treat at the end of the game and doing a cheer for the other team.

What a life.. (part 2)

Since I was using my parent's camera, I don't have the rest of our Arizona pictures but will add them in later. On Saturday, I convinced my parents to go to the Pima County Fair.  It was a perfect day with 70ish degree weather. Jaxon and Claire loved the little kid rides and the petting zoo. It was one of the best petting zoos I've been too--they just let you into this gated area with llamas, goats, pigs, and sheep just walking around. Of course it smells like crazy and you feel like you have to wash your hands about ten times after, but the kids enjoyed it. We ate lunch from a yummy BBQ grill.

Besides all the rides and shows, the fair also had a demolition derby. It was a first for my parent's and the highlight of the fair for all of us. Why is it so funny to see cars crashing into each other? The blue Chrysler Imperial was the favorite, but it started on fire at the end and lost.

The kids ready for a swim-well one of them at least!
We also went to Pump it Up. They have two rooms full of bounce houses. One of the bounce houses had an obstacle course that Claire and Jaxon wanted to keep going through. I was exhausted by the end and it made me wish I had just a portion of the energy my kids have.  

On Tuesday we went to Funtastics which is like a Boondocks. They had go-carts, bumper boats, mini golf, and kid rides. I'm sure the workers thought my mom and I had a little too much to drink. We started laughing at something while we were mini golfing and then everything after that was funny. When we bought the tickets, they told us we had 4 tokens each to use in the arcade. So after we were done with all the rides and went to use our tokens, we realized they had given us each 13 dollars to use on arcades. We played a lot of skee ball and the kids found their favorite games. I found a game that you drop a ball into a number of circles each with a number on it and you got that many tickets. Fast forward an hour--we ended up with 750 tickets. We let the kids pick out a bunch of junk that I'll try and get rid of without them noticing. My dad got a water rocket which he told us he has wanted since he was 6 years old. That information would have made birthdays a lot easier all these years!  

We ended the trip with Old Tuscon.  The kids got plenty of rides on the train and the cars.  They had a great time.  After Old Tuscon, we headed to the airport for our flight.  It was a bumpy flight and I've never been more happy to be on the ground.  Something I was not happy about coming home too--snow!!

We had a wonderful vacation and a great time with my parents!!

What a life...

What a life...a term used frequently by grandparents, kids, and myself over the last week.

I've been wanting to visit my parents in Arizona and when Jeff decided to go to Boston with his Dad, I thought it would be the perfect weekend for me and the kids to come. We are having a great time. The first day that we flew in we went to the Butterfly Gardens. It's sort of like a greenhouse and there were hundreds of butterflies. Jaxon loved holding them and told us after that he made lots of new friends, meaning the butterflies.

On Wednesday, the kids wanted to go to the Children's Museum. Highlights were:

The fire engine:
the vet shop:

the store/kitchen:

building towers and knocking them down:

going down the stairs headfirst (this was the last room they played in and instead of being tired like I thought they might be, they were SO hyper and were laughing their heads off):
Thursday we went on a tram ride through Sabino Canyon. It was a chilly 50 degrees and we tried to stay warm. I loved it anyway-it was beautiful. The kids loved all the waterfalls and the cactus. It was one of my favorite things that we have done so far.

After the canyon tour, Grandma gave the kids a surprise. When we asked Claire what she thought about her sucker, she said, "ouch!"


On Friday, we went to a reptile rambile. It was another chilly day and we cuddled in blankets. They brought out a variety of snakes. We left before they brought out the creepy crawlies which got me thinking, would you rather come across a snake in the desert or a tarantula? Definitely a snake for me--tarantulas make my skin crawl just thinking about them.
I'm trying to be less scared of bugs and such for my kids (after all I need someone to kill the spiders so I don't have too). Jaxon was fine touching the snakes after he saw me doing it--success!!

The cooler weather didn't stop us from enjoying the pool every night. Jaxon is getting more and more brave. By the third night, he was going around the pool by himself with his lifejacket and noodle. His smile was priceless...

The kids sleeping soundly after a hard day of play:

Easter Festivities!

I look forward to Easter weekend almost as much as the kids do. It's such a fun holiday, spring is in the air, and who doesn't love a creme filled Cadbury Egg. Even better that it was conference. My parents flew up to spend the weekend with everyone. Only wish they could've brought some of their warm weather with them. We had a wonderful time with them and love when they come visit.

At Jaxon's preschool on Monday, the eggs they've been watching over the last few weeks hatched. They were able to see two of them hatch in their class. His teacher had an open house between conference sessions on Saturday to let families come and see the chicks and the Easter Bunny. We went and checked them out-they were too little to hold, but still so cute.

We couldn't talk Claire into sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap. Maybe next year...

After the visit to Jaxon's preschool, my family came to our house for lunch and an Easter egg hunt. The kids ended up with loads of candy.

Jaxon and Claire enjoying being with their Grandma and eating their candy.

After the egg hunt, we took a little break to let the sugar high wear off and met at my sister's house while the men went to the Priesthood session. We ate dinner and dyed Easter Eggs. The boys couldn't resist putting their whole hands in the dye and ended up with green fingers. I don't remember coloring eggs being so messy, but then I've never dyed eggs with eight kids before. I love how much fun the cousins have when they are together-they all get along so well!

On Sunday, the Easter Bunny came again. He brought more candy, some toys for outside, and Mario for the WII. Jeff and I have been looking forward to playing Mario with the kids. We find games like that highly entertaining.

Jaxon looking a little stunned at all the candy in his basket. Wish I could read his mind...

Catching up!

I haven't been the best at blogging this month, but I wanted to remember something from March so here goes. We have been able to spend many days at the park and in our backyard which has been so nice. I can't even begin to say how happy I am that spring is finally here. There is so much to love about spring. I love seeing people outside, I love seeing tulips starting to come up even if they aren't in my yard, I love breaking out the flip flops and I love feeling motivated to spring clean my house. One of the things we did this month was clean our windows. Jeff found a great website with all sorts of tips to make things easier. Apparently, if you clean your window with newspaper, you can get it much cleaner than with paper towels or rags or whatever you use. I was a little skeptical until I saw the results. You still use window cleaner and go in a circular motion with crinkled-up newspaper. Maybe this is how everyone cleans their windows, but it was news to me. Here is the before and after picture from our family room window.

Before: I'll admit that cleaning windows and blinds are something I don't do near as often as I should. It's amazing we could even see out of it.

After: It was so clean I kept thinking the window was open.

We also took a St. George cousin trip with my sister and sister-in-law and all the kids. It was actually the end of February but I'll count it since I've wanted to blog about it. Everyone had a great time. I didn't see Jaxon much because he was so busy playing with his cousins. We did lots of outside activities since it was warm enough. It made me excited for our turn to have nice spring weather.

We tried to trap a leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day, but he got away. He did manage to leave some cute green shirts and treats for the kids. Jaxon and Claire thought it was pretty cool. Jax kept asking me how he knew that Tootsie Rolls were his favorite. It was a pretty smart little leprechaun (really...a little man comes in your house while you're asleep and leaves you candy...how creepy). Just glad Jaxon doesn't see the creepiness of it all. We had green pancakes for breakfast and corned beef and cabbage for dinner.

Jeff had his baseball fantasy draft which is his favorite day of the year. He is happy with the team he got. While he was at his draft, I went to the NCAA Regional Game. My parents bought tickets last year and it was fun to see an Elite Eight game. The underdog won which made it even better.

We went to the Discovery Gateway museum with friends:

Jaxon and Claire making delicious looking turkey sandwiches.

As long as Claire had a doll, she was happy.

Jaxon and Kaleb working on the construction site. This is one of Jaxon's favorite things to do at the museum.

The kids have been healthy, the weather is getting warmer, Jeff's almost done with another semester, and we have fun trips to look forward to in April...life is good!

Your package has arrived!

The other day I found the kids pretending that Toby was a package needing to be delivered. They put him in a box and somehow his head ended up coming through the box. Me being the mature mom that I am, could not stop laughing and took pictures when I should have been helping him out of the box. I think that almost everyone who comes over to our house ends up saying sometime before they leave, "poor Toby". He puts up with a lot, but takes it so well. Another Toby story that made me and Jeff laugh pretty good--Claire was holding Toby and he got a little nippy with her. She grabbed his face and said "no bite Toby." Then she stood up and carried him to the laundry room all red-faced. She was so mad and the whole way to the laundry room she was telling him "timeout, three minutes. " She does it a couple times a day now when she thinks he's being bad.

I am liking Toby more now than the last time I posted about him. He continues to follow me around which doesn't bother me until I trip on him. We are much closer to having him house trained and with the nice weather (mostly nice weather I should say since it is snowing outside as I am typing this), he plays outside most of the day. He really is a sweet dog who loves the kids. Whenever Jaxon or Claire gets sad, Toby will lick their faces/tears and give them kisses to make them happy.