Two

Macey is two. How did that happen? Mathematically it doesn't make sense because I swear she was only born a week ago.


Macey at two:
~ insists on eating everything with a fork and a knife, even cereal
~ always, always, always loud
~ so dramatic ("Oh no. Oh my goodness! Oh dear. I dropped my cracker!!")
~ will eat anything, if she can dip it in ketchup or syrup, or both
~ loves jackets, sunglasses and lipstick
~ never stops talking
~ HAS to be in charge (I don't know where she gets that)
~ loves animals
~ adores her brothers and sister
~ gives hugs and kisses freely
~ talks out loud to Jesus all the time
~ snuggler

Girl's Weekend

This weekend I partied with my mom and my sisters. We had such a great time. I forgot my camera, dang it! But it looked a lot like this.



Of course, we shopped, ate at fun restaurants and stayed up all night talking, but this year we also did some very non-girly things. First, we went to Eagle Eye. Loved it.

And then we went to the Body Worlds Exhibit.



It was amazing! It is "a first-of-its-kind exhibit where visitors learn about anatomy, physiology and health by viewing real human bodies. The bodies are preserved through plastination. This exhibit features more than 200 authentic human specimens including whole body plastinates, organs and translucent body slices." Sounds disgusting, right? It wasn't! It was awesome - beautiful almost.






And it must not have grossed us out, because afterward we went straight to P.F. Chang's.



Yum.

Saturday night, we attended the General Relief Society Meeting. It was fabulous. I felt so inspired and touched, even though my sister-in-law kept commenting on how hot President Uchtdorf is. (I think I'll get her a picture of the First Presidency for Christmas.)

On Sunday, we went to Music and the Spoken Word. I have never done that before. It was wonderful. The Bells on Temple Square performed with the Tabernacle Choir and it was breathtaking.

But the best part of my weekend was simply being together. I had the most fun when we were just talking, laughing and crying together. I love those girls!

Jason's Post

Every week I write a letter to my little brother who is on a mission for our church in Argentina. This week, Jason volunteered to write the family letter (which he never does). When he finished, he said, "That is on awesome letter. You should post THAT on your blog." So here you go. Here is an update on our family and some insight into my husband's mind.

Hey Blake,

This week you have to put up with a letter from me instead of Britt. It was fun to get your last letter and hear how you're doing in your new area. I have always dreamed of being able to follow the missionaries around in areas like your last one and beat the crap out of hooligans like the ones who robbed you. Maybe after your mission you and I can go on a different kind of mission, vigilante style.

Skyler and I got to go on a scout overnighter here in Cortez on Friday night. It was set up for the whole stake with 82 boys in attendance. They were broken up into 10 groups and every 30 minutes they switched to a different activity from 7pm until 2 AM!

The whole thing was set up like an army camp, and they were soldiers. If you weren't being "stealthy" a guy named The Jackal would sneak up on you and touch you with some fluorescent powder that would glow when they checked you with a black light at the end of the night. I was leading Skyler's group around when the guy jumped out of the bushes. I about pooped my pants. Skyler says I did a little girl dance. ( I emphatically deny that.) I was at least able to contain my little girl scream. The activity was really fun, and it was great to be able to spend time with Skyler.

This week we had dinner with the missionaries (sisters) and they had a grab bag for us to pick out of. The bag held things like a Book of Mormon, a Restoration pamphlet, etc. Our commitment was to give whatever we picked out to someone who was not a member. Shaylin picked out a Book of Mormon. The next day after work I came home and Shaylin had already given hers away. She put it in her backpack that morning and took it to school. She had a few minutes before school started and she felt the Spirit tell her she should give it to a girl at school so she pulled it out and gave it to a girl and had her read a few verses from it. What an amazing daughter I have. She is such great example of being a witness of Christ at all times. I am so proud of her and am constantly humbled by my children's examples.

Sawyer went with me yesterday to help a family move. He is always game to go anywhere with me. He spent the entire time rolling around on a floor dolly. Of course everyone thought he was so handsome and charming. He is such a good boy.

You won't believe how dang cute Macey is. She definitely has me wrapped around her little finger. She also has a dark side and I am very afraid of her when she shows it. You don't want to cross her. I got to take her on a walk during Sacrament meeting today. Always hilarious to see what she gets excited about. Bugs, pieces of lint, dog poop, her poop, etc.

Brittney continues to be the world's best primary president. She takes such good care of the kids. Next weekend she is going on a short trip up to Utah with your sisters and Mom for a girls weekend. When you get home we'll have to do a guys weekend. Maybe we can get our nails done or something.

I'm so proud of the work that you are doing and the man that you are becoming. Thanks for your sweet example and for your service. I've probably said this before, but you'll never know the extent of your positive influence on my children. I will never be able to repay you for that. I love you Blake and can't wait to see you soon.

Love,
Jason


Not bad, huh? He only used the word poop three times.

Reasons Why I'm Not Blogging This Week

Reason #1 - I have been making salsa! I've never done that before. It's fun. All the ingredients are from our garden! (Except the limes - maybe next year.) This is a great recipe because it uses red AND green tomatoes. We have lots of both.



Now all we need are these, and I'll be happy for a long time.





Reason #2 - This is everything that I picked from our garden TODAY. What do I do with all of this?!! I should be grateful. I know. I am. I'm just overwhelmed.



Reason #3 - Camie taught me how to make these clips for the girl's hair from dollar store flowers. They are so fun.



Can you see how cute that is?!?



Reason #4 - These are the books that I want to finish this week. Good stuff.



Okay, I'd better go invent more uses for zucchini.

Tree Balls

When I picked Sawyer up from preschool last week, we passed one of those trees that grows these on them.



I thought I'd be a fun mom and pick one for him. I showed him how to open it and find these little "balls" inside.



I did have enough forethought to tell him not to eat the balls. But when we got home he said, very sheepishly, "Um Mom. I stuck one of those balls up my nose and it's stuck." No big deal. I helped him blow it out, and we talked about how dangerous it can be to stick things up your nose. (How is that not obvious?)

Well, an hour later, I put Macey down for her nap and notice a little green ball shoved way up her nose!!! She can't blow, and tweezers and nose suckers only pushed the ball up farther. So, I started to freak out a little.

I ran and googled "object stuck up child's nose" and got 1,490,000 hits. (I guess it's not that obvious.) One site said, "Cover the unobstructed nostril, and blow into child's mouth as if you are giving them mouth-to-mouth." What?!?

Well, it totally worked. That little green ball went flying across the room.

Macey said, "Yay Mommy! You found my tree ball!!!" Had it really been lost? Had she been looking for it? I don't know.

Sometimes I wonder why is there not a required class before becoming a mother. I need it.

P.S. Sawyer SWEARS that he did not shove the ball up Macey's nose. He just showed her how to do it herself. That's what big brothers are for.

Happy Birthday To Me

I had a GREAT birthday!
My mom and sister came to visit me and bring me presents.
Shaylin woke up early to make me strawberry waffles.
Jason didn't let me lift a finger all day.
I got to watch movies, snuggle and play games with the kids.
Jason took me on a romantic date.
I got exactly what I wanted. (It helped that I sent Jason an email with links to both of these sites a month ago.)



It was a great day.

That night I thanked Jason for the perfect birthday. He said, "Oh, I have learned that a bad birthday can mean a bad year."

I don't know what he's talking about.

First Day of School

It went pretty well.



Sawyer is excited about his new preschool. It helps that he is in LOVE with his cute teacher. When he gets up the nerve to talk to her, he usually ends up tripping on something.



Shaylin is in heaven. "Why is school so short? I love it so much. I sit by Taylor and Grace and I love them. Oh, my teacher is so nice. She loves our class. I can tell that Brien has improved his reading skills this summer. Lunch was so delicious. I love my new pencil box..."

At this point I am just smiling and nodding.



After the first day, Skyler said, "Well I didn't DIE of boredom, but it was close." That poor kids just does not like school.