P.S.

So, if anyone has noticed, this is my 22nd post this month. Wow! My goal is to stay off of the computer for a few days and not do anymore posts until next month. I really am doing okay, there just isn't a lot do to at night when I am all by my lonesome self;) and we don't have many stations on the television. Don't worry, I got a calling as Secretary of the Primary and some girls have invited me to go to some museums and other attractions that will fill my time. My life is finally starting to roll forward here!

Bustin' A Gut

We love that Dallin is old enough to understand humor because it is so fun to watch him split his gut when he is watching something funny. He is watching Cat in the Hat...the part where the Cat is jumping on the couch with the kids.

Working Man

Monday: 9:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday 9:00 a.m.- 11:00 p.m.
Wednesday 9:00 a.m.-2:30 a.m.
Thursday 9:00 a.m.- 3:30 a.m.
Friday: 9:00 a.m.- 6:30 a.m.
Saturday 10:00 a.m.-1:30 a.m.
Sunday 12:15 p.m.-

If you are wondering what the heck these numbers are...they are Chad's work schedule this past week. I know, it's inhumane. It hasn't been that bad, actually, until this week. He is working on a project that needs to be done by Monday when he is going with some others to Texas to pitch to a company. Don't feel bad for us, we totally knew what we were getting into. Just thought you might like to know what Chad has been up to!

I Did It! (Thanks to Shalae)

Thanks, Shalae, your instructions were so helpful. I just wanted to see if I could do the whole video thing. This video is sooo cute but I just posted a little bit of it because I didn't know how much memory this thing would allow. Oh ya, this movie is a few months old...in our old house. Anyway, enjoy and I'll try to get some good footage in the future so that I can share!! P.S. Hopefully the sound works, the sound on my laptop is having problems so let me know if you can't hear anything.

Nose and Bead

Last night we came home late from enrichment (the kids and me) and I quickly got them ready for bed and as I laid Jocey down I caught a glimpse of blue in her nose. I grabbed a bobby pin and tried to get it out, it was big and hard and lodged pretty far up there. I tried different solutions,(pepper, baby booger sucker, saline solution)everything I could think of to either make her sneeze or manually pull it out. She was not taking it well and Dallin was so mad at me. He kept saying, "Mom! Don't her Jocey!" She was so sad, after I tried my different remedies she just laid on my shoulder and fell asleep. This morning I called around for a few hours, trying to find Dr.'s in our network but it seemed like nothing was going to work out. I explained to her that I needed to try and get it out again. (You can barely see blue in her left nostril) I went to get another bobby pin and tweezers and I came back out to the front room and I couldn't see either kid. Well, I found them behind behind the couches, Jocey laying on Dallin and they were hugging each other tight. It was so sad/cute. He didn't want me to hurt her again. I actually took a picture of it. When I laid her down, she was yelling, "Dallin, hold me!" Well I still couldn't get it out. I was afraid I was doing more damage. I finally got hold of my insurance, found out the information I was looking for and got an appointment. It took the Dr. like 5 minutes to get that thing out. It was a bead from the bracelet Dallin made in nursery a few weeks ago. On our way home she said to me, "Mommy, Dr. help me!" I am so glad we got that bead out of there and hopefully she AND Dallin learned a lesson about putting things in their noses.

Worn Out!!

ANYONE who has even met Dallin has seen his zip-up batman pajamas. He has been wearing them for about 2 1/2 years. At times he would wear them night AND day and other times they were worn underneath his clothes. The last few months, he likes to wear them at quiet time and at bedtime. The inside really looks like the bottom of a gross bathroom rug. Ewww. Well, when he put them on last night Chad kept saying how bad they stunk. I smelt them and it was SO BAD! This morning when Dallin was helping me put his clean clothes away, I said, "Dallin your batman jammies are getting old, I think that they are too little for you and they stink." He smelt them (he agreed) and I asked him if we should throw them away. He casually said, "Okay". Wow...that was A LOT easier than I thought it would be. We had a little photo shoot before he put them in the garbage. He seems to be doing okay. My little boy is all grown up and out of his batman pajamas.

Last Time

Good bye hole in my armpit

Holes from safety pinning of the many capes that went with this outfit

My favorite, saggy bum

Can you say Worn Out! I didn't even know it was that bad.

The Moment

Done!

BrickBreaker

Chad and I switched phones because he has a blackberry for work and didn't want to carry around two. It worked out really well because I can tether the blackberry to the laptop for internet. Well...I haven't had a ton to do the last week because I don't really know anyone yet and I haven't had internet and we don't get many television stations. I've been playing Brickbreaker a little and I went through all 34 levels and then some. I was so impressed with myself. If you are familiar with Brickbreaker my score is 24,740, I went from level 1-34 and then 1-14. Impressed?

Request for Amie and Others

Hey Amie,

I was just wondering when you are going to get a blog so I can see that cute boy of yours:) No pressure. Also, all of you others who look at this and don't have a blog need to get one. The longer my list of friends and family is the cooler I look;). No really...I want to see pictures and see what is going on with you all! Can you tell I am lonely out here?

Allied Art Guild (Outing #1)

Every week some moms in the ward go on outings to places in the area. Last week we went to a Guild. It was gorgeous. These pictures will show you a little of what the area looks like....gorgeous!

Self-Trained

So the other day we were at this Art Guild and I took Dallin potty. Jocey kept saying, "Potty too, potty too." I was just annoyed and we didn't have anything better to do so I stuck her on the toilet. Well, she peed. I was taken back a little and just thought it was a coincidence. That night, Dallin was going standing up and Jocey was standing right next to him and she was pushing on her skin because she copies EVERYTHING Dallin does. I was explaining to her that girls don't stand up, they sit and I sat her down to show her. I asked if she was done and she said, "No, mose (more)." I had to do something so I told her to holler when she was done. After a few minutes, she came running out of the bathroom saying, "Mommy I did it!" I looked in the toilet and there was poo in it. I was super surprised. The next morning she did it again. That night I put diapers on both her and Dallin for bedtime. She took hers off and said, "Mommy..ALL DONE!". She won't even get close to diapers anymore. Our old neighbors gave us some princess pull-ups and she will put those on sometimes but she only likes panties now. She has been going ever since. Of course, she has had a few accidents but I am surprised how fast she is learning. This morning she didn't even tell me, and she peed and then another time she pooped. She just gets me after to show me. Let's hope it continues.

So Strong

We were at TJ Maxx yesterday and Dallin saw this superman toy and was begging me for it. It was only $3 but I didn't think that he needed it. He said, "Mom can I see your phone so I can call my dad?" I gave him the phone and he talked to Chad's secretary and then Chad called back. Dallin said, "Dad, are you busy? Can I have this superman toy?" Chad said he had to do some jobs when we got home so that he could "earn" it. He did EVERYTHING I asked him to do when we got home. I opened it up and he put it on and has been Superman ever since. The pictures tell all. (Don't worry he still likes Batman)

Nursery Bites

Last Sunday when I picked Jocey up from nursery the Primary Pres. was holding her and she said that Jocey was bit and that she was so sorry. I told her that I understood that those things happen and that it would be fine. As we were leaving I looked at her hand and I noticed it was pretty bad (pictures is sort of blurry). When we got home Jocey was showing me her hand and she said, "Daniel bit me!" I had to laugh because they never told me who bit her but she sure knew who did it.

Bug

So our first week, we are supposed to unpack, figure out our surroundings and...settle in. Well on Tuesday something horrible hit me and I was on the couch until Saturday morning. I felt horrible so the kids watched T.V. the ENTIRE week. I felt so bad but I was so sick I couldn't get up. Friday night Chad started to feel bad and he was in bed all weekend. He went into work late today because he was still feeling it a little bit. Whatever that bug was, we hope that none of you get it. We are glad that we are almost all over it.

Talker

One of the things about being in California by ourselves is that nobody gets to see the cute things my kids do except for me...so I'll post them. Jocey has been talking so much lately. She mimics EVERYTHING that Dallin says. It's funny because she isn't just mimicking, she really understands the things she says. Yesterday when we were swimming she counted to ten all by herself and at bedtime we were reading nursery rhymes and she sang all of Twinkle Twinkle Little star with me and Dallin. It is really cute how she draws out the last word of each phrase. She recently got some flip-flops because her feet are so huge, I figured that it would take awhile for her feet to grow out of these. She slides around like she is in high heels and it takes FOREVER to go anywhere because she is so independent and likes to do everything "By myyyyselfff!" Going up and down two flights of stairs really discourages me from going anywhere at the moment (or at least until we put elastics on the back of her flip flips).

Peter Pan

Yesterday morning I made the kids oatmeal and Dallin was, for some reason, hesitant to eat his. I was explaining that oatmeal was healthy and that it was good for his heart and since he had diarrhea, fiber would help that. He said, "Mom, that is potty talk." I continued to explain myself and why I wasn't talking potty talk. He blurted out, "Gir-Girls talk to much!" I was taken back and asked where he heard that from and he said, "Peter Pan." I don't know the last time he watched that movie...maybe April. He has quite the memory and and even better sense of humor. We love our little guy, he keeps us smiling.

Half-Moon Bay

We Made It

I didn't take any pictures during the move. I'd like to forget about the whole thing. The kids weren't that bad, I have to admit, but I am so glad it's over. We picked up Chad at the airport Saturday morning and at first we couldn't find him. (Not at Terminal one where I have always gone). We found him and Dallin went racing as fast as he could and hugged him so tight and laid his head on Chad's shoulder. Jocey held him for a minute and then said, "Momma" and jumped back to me. We went back to Aunt Marianne's to meet my parents and to get the moving truck. We visited for just a minute (poor Aunt Marianne has a broken leg) and then left around 12:00. We didn't think we would be able to go very fast but Chad kept a good pace. Dallin rode with him , of course, and Jocey rode with me. We drove until Reno and we were both super tired, we were in at about 9:00 p.m. The kids went right to sleep and so did we. We headed out at about 8:30? and drove all the way to our apartment. When anyone comes to visit, you can either take the Bay Bridge or the San Mateo Bridge to get the the Peninsula. I would recommend the Bay Bridge because you can see the whole city. We got here and waited for our managers to get home from church (they are LDS). We had lunch and finally got the keys and into our apartment at 4:30-5:00. The manager's (Kate) husband helped Chad lift everything out of the truck so he could help him move the furniture in. Well when the night was over we had taken the truck back, the furniture was in our apartment and most of our stuff was outside, on the ground, in our parking spot. Chad told me that we needed to go to bed because we would never finish taking everything into our apartment. I was so stressed because I knew that it would get stolen. I prayed that it would be protected and in the morning it was, surprisingly, still there. I guess nobody wanted our stuff;). Monday morning Chad went to work and three guys from the Elders Quorum came over to help bring the rest of our stuff in. Thank Heavens. I have gotten most of the boxes unloaded. It is hard to balance keeping the kids occupied and unpacking. I was feeling a little stressed yesterday but Chad got home around 5:30 and we went to the beach! It is only a 15 minute drive and we had so much fun. Nature definitely relieves my stresses. It was really cool because the sky was clear (which is not very often) and we could see the sun setting on the horizon. I posted a million pictures of the beach...so...enjoy! Also, I am so thankful for the church, it is the only way I've had contact with people in the area. The R.S. President already came by and brought me flowers and a treat. They are so kind and I can't wait for church to come so I can make friends. Also, they have a Valparaiso Mom group that goes to places around the area once a week. I am excited for that.

Brad and Nikki August 3, 2007

For You, Anita

After Nikki and Brad got married I took Carly outside for a little photo shoot. She is such a doll and we are going to miss her! Anita said that Carly thought that she was going to marry Josh (her daddy) and this dress was her "white" dress she picked out to wear.

Carly Cook

All Better

Today Jocey had her check-up at Primary Children's. Nothing painful just an ultra-sound of her kidneys. She was really cute when she talked to the Dr's and nurses. Dallin came along this time and really liked all the toys that are EVERYWHERE. The Dr. giving Jocey her ultra-sound was talking like Donald Duck and Dallin was splitting his gut he was laughing so hard. When he was explaining things about Jocey's kidney's Dallin would copy the big words he was using...really cute. After the ultra-sound we had to meet with the Urologist and Jocey climbed up on the table by herself and asked Dallin to "check me". He climbed up on the chair and had her open her mouth, he put his finger in and said, "OH okay, you're all better." She then asked him to check her feet. So cute, they were doing that when the Urologist came in and she thought that it was so funny. GOOD NEWS! Jocey's kidney's are doing better and she only has to finish the anti-biotic that she is on and she is done. She said that I could get her checked in a year or so if I would like. After we were done talking, Jocey said, "Candies". I was surprised that she remembered because we haven't been since January. It was glad that both kids behaved well because the appointment cut into nap time.

Series of Unfortunate Events

I've always heard comments and I've even made comments myself about the ghetto that we live in but I didn't really believe it until NOW.

1. Chad's Little Giant Ladder was stolen
2. Pipe bomb in our mailbox (last year, just thought it would make my post more exciting;))
3. House ALMOST caught on fire (our lawn was on fire)
4. Toilet papered horrendously
5. My sister's car was broken into (the broke her window with a big rock) and they stole her purse, ipod, social security...EVERYTHING.

I feel so violated and I am SO GLAD we are moving in a few days!!