In between simmers

The kids are all napping, and I'm making soup. It's currently simmering. I'm trying to be better about blogging, and since I may be out of the blogging world for the next 3-4 weeks, I decided to post. This past week we've been getting ready for a trip to Oklahoma. I will be going to Paul's parents' for two weeks with the kids to escape the heat (to the humidity). The kids are so excited for Grandpa to come on Saturday and "pick us up". Grandpa Jeff will be flying from San Diego to our house Saturday, and then driving with the kids and me on Monday. It's been 106 degrees here for the past three days, and it's only gonna get hotter! So, we're pretty excited. We'll miss Daddy tremendously! But, he has quite the list of things he can do to keep him busy. And when I say quite the list, I made it myself. If you know me, you know I'm a lists person. It's pretty detailed. He doesn't have to get everything done. But, he has plenty to do if he finds that a house with ten less hands gets boring! (Oh, the things I would do if I had a week with eight less hands....!) After our vacation to Oklahoma, we will be meeting Paul along the way to Pagosa Springs, Colorado to play with my immediate family for a few days before heading back to Tucson. Hopefully, by the time we get home, monsoon season will be in full swing! It's not that I don't like the heat. I love the spring, fall, and winter here. The summer isn't really that bad. I just like being outside. So, in preparation for our great mid-west adventure, I've been making Paul a lot of freezer meals so that his diet doesn't consist of Hot Pockets, creating packing lists, and potty-training Ewan (maybe not such a good idea).

Finished the living room drapes finally!

Exercising

On the potty train

I've had the "potty-training" talk with Ewan a few times. I would say things like, "If you want to wear big boy underpants, you have to go potty on the toilet", "Do you want to be a big boy? You'll be a big boy when you go potty on the toilet." Both of us knew that the first statement was untrue. He's been wearing underpants over his diaper were months! And the other statement would just have him frowning or exclaiming that he was okay with being a baby! Yeah, I don't really know how to motivate him. But, last week I was changing his diaper after breakfast and he asked me not to put another diaper on him. He wanted to go potty on the toilet.Paul was home, and I kinda looked at him like, are we gonna try this? We decided to go with it! He's done really well! He's had a few accidents, and they've really been my fault. I wasn't paying attention after lunch. And the other time was at Stake Conference while Paul was being set apart. I planned on taking him before, but they said it would just take a few minutes. Blast those few minutes! He doesn't really tell me when he needs to go yet, but he goes when I take him in. He's been dry at nap time and in the mornings. I still put a diaper on him 'cause I'm too lazy. I do plenty of laundry already! This is the first time ever I've had only one baby in diapers! I may buy myself something fancy...like replace my food processor that melted in the dishwasher after I mistakenly pressed the hot water and heated dry settings. Bummer of a lifetime, I tell you what! Anyway, we're excited for Ewan to be a big boy! Maybe I can potty-train Elin over Christmas...!

 

Trip To Utah

We've been home from Utah for about a week. It was really nice to escape the heat for a weekend and enjoy some much needed time outside. We spent most of our days at grandma and grandpa's playing outside! It was wonderful! We weren't able to go to the family reunion in Salt Lake because Paul had some meetings. We left after work, drove the nine+ hours to Cedar City, and stayed the night at my parents' house. We were making really good time until we got to Vegas. Who knew that at 10 o'clock at night Vegas would have unusually high traffic due to Nascar? Not us! It took us over an hour to travel 5 miles to the north side of Vegas on I-15. My family had already left for Salt Lake earlier that day. So we had the house all to ourselves. We made waffles for breakfast, played outside, made a mess of Grandma's amazing playroom, played outside some more, ate lunch, had a fun visit from Uncle Blair and Aunt Mary, checked into our hotel, took naps, and then made dinner for the arrival of the Uncles (and Grandma and Grandpa). It was fun to see the kids play with cousins. Olivia and Aislee are still talking about Aspen, Elliot, and Stori who are "they're best friends". Sunday was a lot of fun too. We got to hear Uncle Joel report his mission to Japan. Another missionary had recently returned, and spoke with him. It was wonderful to hear Kyrie and Joel talk about their experiences serving the Lord. We went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for sandwiches and more cousin fun! My sister, Arianne came down from Eagle Mountain with her kids. They are are a lot of fun and are growing up pretty darn fast! The next day, my mom watched our kids while Paul and I went on a run through downtown Cedar City. I love running with Paul! We've been thinking about having our babysitter come a little early some Saturdays so we can run or play tennis together. Anyway, we checked out, went back to my parents' house and kept on playing. The twins discovered Grandma's Barbie collection! They also learned how to play Red Rover. We ate lunch, played in the sprinklers, and then headed home. It was a short trip, but a lot of fun! We can't wait to see everyone again when we go to Pagosa Springs in July!

Gradnma's sandbox.

Grass! Oh, the grass!

Paul enjoyed practicing.

Aspen wrestling Uncle Joel

4 Generations

Ten minutes into our drive home.

Azure

Elin loved being outside, and it wore her out!

Uncle Kett and Super Ewan!

Making TexMex for dinner

Red Rover!