I Love My...

Fuzzy Wiggles Slippers

Playing "Smash-the-newspaper" with Harvey
and....

My new favorite toy (and slippers, again) the vacuum cleaner!

My brother

My brother, Kyle, called Saturday afternoon and wanted to take me out for lunch! Usually, I see Kyle when we all get together for family stuff, but it's not that often that we get to hang out exclusively. So, I was excited that he had "free" Saturday afternoon and that he wanted to spend it with me, his nerdy big sister!

We went to Sushi Yama (if you like sushi, I highly recommend this place!) and had a nice time catching up a bit. It was fun to hear about all of this "big" plans and all of the happenings that life as a single guy has to offer. Then, we drove over to Shadow Lakes and browsed a bit and he helped me pick out some shorts for Cubby (Kyle has an unusually good fashion sense--we like to tease him about it, but when push comes to shove, he's dead-on with his opinions on what's hot and what's not!).

When we were growing up, Kyle and I had a good relationship, but since we're 5 years apart, our interests were often different. He's always been his own person though. For example, he made his own duct tape pants...and wore them. He got into hockey, snowboarding, and longboarding while all of his friends played soccer and baseball. He used blue glue put spikes in his hair for the first day of school--and his teachers still thought he was a great kid!

Now that we're older, the age gap has closed a bit and we can relate to each other more. He's a lot of fun to be around and is always up for an adventure! Kyle works hard and plays hard and knows who he is and what he wants to accomplish. He grew up a lot while on his mission and even though he has matured, he still knows how to have a good time.

I just wanted to give a shout-out to my dorky little brother...who now is taller and much funnier than I am...thanks for the fun afternoon, Kyle! I love you!

If I were to keep a journal....

this is what an entry would be like: a jumbled mess of random thoughts and events! WARNING: YOU MAY GET VERY WEIRDED OUT.

Here goes!

My first random comment is that Cubby just got a new calling--the first counselor in the Elder's Quorum presidency. Now, many of you are probably thinking, "Uh, that's too bad!" However, this past Sunday he only had ONE meeting!!! Let me tell you how wonderful it was to have him home most of Sunday morning! I just loved having him around to goof off with the kids (there is just something about "Dad" that makes being at home on a Sunday a fun thing to do!) In any case, we're both excited for this new change and look forward to what's in store!

On another note, we held FHE on Monday night (Family Home Evening for those not accustomed to the acronymic mess of the LDS culture!). We usually spend most evenings together as a family, but I've found that when we make it an "official" FHE (with song, prayer, lesson (albeit a short one), etc) that our home just seems to be a happier place to be. After we finished FHE (4 mins after we started) I had a burst of energy and felt like baking cookies, Cubby chased the kids around the house, and following the seemingly endless giggle fest, bedtime just went so smoothly! I'm all about these immediate blessings that come from holding FHE!

Today was another busy day (my favorite kind of days!--I'm a much better on-the-go mom than a stay-at-home mom!). This morning wasn't QUITE as humid as it has been (thanks to a thunderstorm at 5:30 this morning) and so my mom and I took advantage of it and took the kids to the zoo! (Christian is now starting to give up his morning naps and so we've been able to get out more in the mornings.) Emily saw some "Janelles" (Gazelles) and they both loved the Aquarium and giraffes, among other things.

After naps, I took the kids out to visit Cubby at work and then we took them to the Amazing Pizza Machine for dinner. Our reasons for going there were twofold: 1) Emily's been begging to go there since November (the last time we went) and 2) I just scrubbed the kitchen floor today and wanted to keep it food-free for at least 12 hours! In any case, it was fun, and the kids crashed when we got home. Cubby had a meeting up at church and I am just having a good-ol' time blogging away!

Now, a good blogger/mom would've taken pictures of all of these fun events of the day. However, my memory card is full and will not be going to Target until tomorrow. Oh well. Also, Emily has been coming up with some really funny little phrases that I've been meaning to write down and haven't. Ugh.

Okay, one more thing that will convince all that I'm slacking on the "mom" end of things: the shoes Emily wore all day today were a size too small and I didn't realize it until we were at Cubby's work and she was having trouble walking b/c they were pinching her feet! I had thought that her saying "Ow" was b/c her socks were bunched up weirdly. She ended up wearing just her socks at the Amazing Pizza Machine just so she could play. I know, gross, but necessary. How could I have missed that one? In my defense, she wore them to the zoo for crying out loud and was just fine! Did her feet grow during naptime???

So, now I'm sure anyone who's read through all this is scared and will run the next time they see me. But, I just felt like getting some thoughts down and wanted to give everyone a small peak into a very scattered mind! You were warned....

Our new favorite food

Christian seriously ate the all of the corn off this cob (and would've eaten another if I'd have had it!) I just love my funny little boy....

Playing with Great-Grandpa Don

The last couple of days, we've had my Grandpa in town! The last time we were all together was when Emily was 18 months old! My Aunt Kris and her oldest daughter, Ingrid, are also here for a visit. The last time I saw Ingrid was 7 years ago! (Granted, they live in France so that it's not like we can just jump in a car and visit, but still, time just goes too fast.)

We had a nice dinner over at my Mom's house Wednesday night and the we were able to slow the kids down enough for a picture with their Great-Gpa.

Today, we went out to the SAC Museum and had an interesting experience! We had seen the airplanes and were getting ready to leave when the museum director came on the intercom and told us that everyone had to move down to the lower level because the sirens had gone off and some nasty weather was upon us. Thankfully, we were only there for an extra 1/2 hour and it was only a thunderstorm outside. Boy-oh-boy though, the rain came down and we were glad that the floods did not come up! We eventually were able to leave and went and had dinner at my Grandma's house before heading home. Just a bit of excitement to our day...grateful that that everything turned out okay in the end.

Can We Take A Normal Family Picture???

These are our failed attempts at a family picture. So much for a Christmas card picture from this batch!

Working 9 to 5....(If only those were my hours!)

This morning we went and visited Harvey at work! The kids had a fun time exploring the cubicle maze at his office and seeing him working hard....or was it hardly working??? Hehehehe....As you can see, Christian did a little bit of work while we were there and Emily had a tough time leaving because, she told me, "I'm trying to work here, Mommy!"

Finishing up our week...Thursday, Friday and the trip home on Saturday

Thursday showers brought a trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house! The kids had a great time exploring the stone basement for hidden treasures and clues. After lunch, Gretchen and I took Carson and Christian home for naps while Cubby, Grandma and Grandpa played with the three older kids all afternoon! They went for a walk in the rain and had a great time spending time with each other.

On Friday, we packed up and left Syracuse and headed toward Buffalo again. On the way, we stopped in Rochester at the Strong Museum (a really big children's museum). It broke up the trip nicely and everyone had a fun time "on Sesame Street", riding the train, and going on another carousel!

Friday afternoon and evening found us back at Sara and Kirk's house where the kids played with bubbles, sidewalk chalk and various outdoor toys while we BBQ'd and ate some delicious food! That evening, we debated going to the fireworks show, but in the end, reason won over and we put our extremely tired children to bed (since we were leaving the next morning) and Cubby and I had a relaxing evening collapsed on the couch while everyone else went out! Yes, we're such party-poopers, but Emily HATES fireworks and Christian was just exhausted. Maybe we'll brave them next year!

As you can tell from the picture, the trip home was one of sleeping. Emily even fell asleep the last 15 min of the last flight! We were so tired and it was great to be home....even though now we're totally missing all of the family fun timers! We hope all of our family in New York will consider making the trip to Omaha sometime soon! Thank you to Gretchen and Chris, Sara and Kirk, Grandma and Grandpa, and of course, all of the cousins, for showing us such a fun time!! We love you guys!

More Fun in New York! (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday)

Last Monday was spent "in recovery" and we pretty much just let the kids play and rest in the morning and afternoon. After dinner though, we drove over to the Carousel Mall and took the kids on the carousel (naturally)! Emily loved it. Christian didn't like the horses that moved up and down, but enjoyed the ride once he moved to a more stationary seat!

On Tuesday, we went swimming in Aunt Gretchen's pool! It was a "toasty" 71 degrees and Cubby and I were the only adults brave enough (well, maybe stupid enough) to get in! As you can see from the pictures, Emily was quite the water baby but Christian thought we were nuts and was not a fan of the cold water.

Wednesday brought yet another beautiful day (sunny, mid 70s, no humidity!!!) and we went over to Onondaga Lake Park. The area there is very nice--it has both a big playground area and a huge recreational area and trail for joggers, bikes, picnics, etc. We played and had lunch there. The kids liked going down to the water and Emily and Cubby pretended to go fishing...the lake itself is extremely polluted and so no one really fishes there. That afternoon, it was back into the water and Emily and Cubby swam until their lips were blue! This time, Uncles Peter and Chris got in the water with some of the other kiddos and they made a decent whirl pool (mostly to keep warm, I think!).

Looking back, it was really neat to see how Emily related to both Ethan and William differently. She and William played well together with toys, reading books, and imagination-type stuff. With Ethan, Emily identified with his adventurous side and the physical stuff like swimming in the pool climbing everywhere at the playground. It was fun to see various parts of her personality come out with each cousin. Christian just loved being around all of the "big kids" and trying to do all that they did.

We hope you enjoy the slide show!

Last Saturday and Sunday

Whatta' week we had! It was such a fun trip and it was great to spend time with the Lindseths! The kids had so much fun with their cousins--Emily has told me that she wants to have them all come and play here "soon".

I'll give the break-down of last week throughout this week with lots' of pictures and whitty commentary (okay, well, maybe not-so-whitty commentary). Enjoy! (I know we sure did!)

We arrived in Buffalo on Saturday night and were welcomed by Cubby's sister, Sara, and our newest little niece, Kaylee. The minute, no, the second, we arrived at Sara's house, Emily and William (who just turned 4) took off and busied themselves playing. (Mind you, this is after a full day of travelling and the kids are TIRED. However, Emily knew she couldn't waste any of this precious playtime and got down to business asap!

The next morning, we went to church and little Kaylee got her name and blessing. After brief afternoon naps, we went to Kirk's (Sara's husband) family's house and had lunch/dinner and played outside with all of the kids. It was a beautiful afternoon and the highlight was watching Cubby go "bowling"--see pictures below. Emily, William and Ethan all loved it just as much as we did!

(The last picture is after Cubby had knocked Ethan and William over--the ball had bounced away--he picked up the "spare" (Emily) on the next try!

Emily and Ethan finding snails in the backyard.
Christian, enjoying himself in a little playhouse.

Emily and Reagan, getting a ride in the wheelbarrow.

One of the biggest and fattest cats EVER. (This picture does not do it justice.)

After dinner we drove to Syracuse where another one of Cubby's sisters, Gretchen, and her family live. The drive was probably the toughest part of the entire trip--Emily did great (thank you portable DVD players) but Christian, who was just exhausted, and not used to being in the car for more than 40 mins, did not enjoy the 2 1/2 hour drive. However, we all made it and the kids collapsed shortly thereafter!

I'll post more throughout the week--it's just too much to do in one sitting for me! And besides, I think all we'll be doing this week is recovering and getting back into the old swing of things!

We're here!

Well, we made it to New York! (Actually, we made it here Saturday night, but this is the first chance I've had to post!) Both Emily and Christian travelled really well and, aside from a small delay getting out of Omaha, we didn't run into any problems.


Emily and Christian are having so much fun playing with their cousins. They've all played until their tired little bodies literally collapse at night (and Christian has been taking such good naps...do we really have to leave on Saturday???)

Anyhow, I will be sure to post some pictures once we get home...or if I can figure out a way to post from here! We hope all is going well at home amidst the 4th of July warzone that is Omaha!