Yet another first, to add among thousands, for our family!

BIG title, yah, I know. I was just way excited for this. I guess you could say I've been looking forward to it for about um, 18 months now! Have you guessed what it is yet? Cheater! I saw you read ahead! That's right- Tyli is now officially in Nursery! She has (very UNwillinginly) been going to nursery for a few weeks, which has always resulted in me ending up with her because her nursery teachers love the sound of her screaming as much as I do, but today was her actual "legal" day to go, so I opened the door, placed her on the floor as I grabbed a toy from the toy bin, shoved it in her hand, and RAN! OK, so I know my sister-in-laws are thinking, "I always knew she was a mean mom!"-I'm only kidding Jen and Steph! I guess I am mean. She is so stubborn that she would NEVER go, and she needs to learn a little Independence- TRUST ME! She REALLY needs to be away from her mom- even if it's only a little under 2 hours a week at a time. I have to thank Megan, who had to endure the screaming, and another big thanks to Lindsay who ended up holding her the whole time. I just hope next Sunday she will let me plop her down again without magically sticking to me. Today was big because I actually got to listen to ALL of my Sunday School and combined meeting lesson for the first time in almost 3 years (no joke!), which I really needed.Really Megan, thanks!

Dallin Had A Birthday, Shout Hurray!

I can't believe my big boy is 5 already! He looks 5, according to him, and I agree, but it hasn't really been 5 years since I had him, has it?

The kids and I had a great time looking at Dallin's scrapbook and talking about the day he was born. He loved seeing pictures of him from that time and the year following his birth. I think we spent a little over an hour doing this, but it kept them occupied. McKade thought every picture was of him, and Tyli just kept saying, "baby!" I loved looking at this almost more than they did.

Dallin is a very strong, opinionated boy (just like him mom!). He was convinced we HAD to go to Peter Piper Pizza for a party. Since it was his year to not have a party, we were hesitant, but decided to take our family and have fun. Brad and Stephanie and their boys joined us, and we all had a great time together. Dallin sure loves his cousins and was so excited to see that they were there. (Aunt) Stephanie bought him some tokens for his birthday, so the kids all enjoyed playing games and riding the rides. Dallin liked a video game the best, and the most wonderful part was that for some reason, he was playing off someone else's tokens and played for free for about 20 minutes! He even beat Steph and I at Air Hockey (well, kinda- the score said he won, but you know, it was his birthday!)

After dinner, we headed to Grandma's house for brownies and ice cream. Dallin was so excited for his presents, it was fun watching him try not to look at them. He absolutely loved everything he got, and was feeling pretty overwhelmed towards the end. I snuck out and got his new bike Cauley and I surprised him with. He was hesitant riding it at first as it is MUCH bigger then the one he had, but he got the hang of it and was riding up and down the sidewalk before too long. It was cute watching Parker and McKade run after him. All in all, he had "the best birthday ever!" I love him so much and can't believe that 5 years has passed so quickly!

Turley Family Reunion

Our family "hike" lead by Uncle Grant.

What a weekend! We all loaded our cars and headed to a secluded spot outside of Show Low, AZ for the Turley family reunion. We "camped out" in a very old church, which fit our family very well. We had plenty of rooms for everyone to sleep in, giving every family their own room, and everyone had their own bed. The "Relief Society room was changed into our "dining room" and provided enough space at the table for a majority of the people to eat. The cultural hall was my kids' favorite, providing loads of fun with ping pong, a pool table, and enough space for all our crafts, games, and running around. There was even an area (chapel maybe?) where we had couches and a big screen TV with satellite cable! This was where we all would meet for family time, which included games, meetings, and, of course, laughter and tears. My personal favorite area of this old church was the old baptismal font which had been changed into a big shower (which I don't think anyone used!). Our kids had so much fun running around this huge building with cousins old and young! I had a wonderful time chatting with Aunts and Uncles and had a great time with my two nephews, Parker and Bryce. My mother-in-law planned a lot of the reunion, with help from Aunt Gerry, and I must say they did a phenomenal job! I love spending time with this side of our family, and am grateful for the opportunity to go to our reunion again this year! (A BIG thank you to Aunt Gerry for everything!) I can't wait for next year!

Grandma Kathy (my mother-in-law) and McKade outside "exploring."

My kids taking their bath Saturday night in an old tub.



A fun family moment at a park in Show Low.

Brad and Bryce

?Thankful Thursday?

I know, I am pretty weird some times, but I just wanted to say how thankful I am to be helping out the primary lately. For pretty much the past 3 months now, I have substituted EVERY week by filling in as a teacher in either the nursery or primary. Either I am called during the week from a teacher who won't be attending that week or "searched out" as soon as Sacrament is over by a very desperate primary president, and willingly give up my seat to Sunday School to help out. Having been a primary teacher for the past 8 years of my life now (mingled with other fun callings, of course) I feel right at home sitting in singing time with 2-3 kids sitting on my lap while belting out the primary hymns. I pretty much have the lesson manuals memorized, and have a few "tricks," or time filling games I have learned. I love teaching these little ones and learning from them more than I could ever teach them. I am very thankful to be able to help out, as I have depended on others to fulfill my calling a time or two in the past.

*This is an absolute disclaimer, that in NO WAY am I wanting to be called AGAIN as a primary teacher (for the time being anyways). I am just happy to help out, that's all. But, I know the call is coming- it's just a matter of time. I think my purpose in life is to go every Sunday and teach either primary or nursery.

Happy Father's Day, Cauley!

I am not the sappy type, so, following my usual, I just want to say Happy Father's Day to the most wonderful husband ever, Cauley. (aka Daddy, Mr. Clark, and Coach Clark. ) I am so thankful to have you in my life. You are a wonderful example to me and our kids and I love watching you teach and play with them. It's no wonder our boys want to be just like you when they grow up, and if they are, I will be one VERY happy mom!

Tyli goes swimming

As I was cooking dinner the other night, I heard Cauley yell "Jami, bring the camera!" I quickly did as I was told, trying hard to figure out where he was. I heard him say, "No. Sit down!" and realized he was in our bathroom with one of our kids. To my surprise, I saw Tyli sitting in our toilet with a huge grin on her face. When she saw me, she said, "I swim, mommy!" I quickly turned on the video camera and we had a nice little conversation with her on video, then I turned it off and snapped a few pictures before we let her get out of her new swimming pool. (Just kidding about her new pool!) I hope we got the message to her about not getting into the toilet again!

Our New TV

I will not bore you all with details of this very interesting story, so if you want to read about it, please go to our other blog. (* I will not try and hyperlink this because none of mine ever work anyhow- just click on it under my fantastic family links.) Anyways, The first TV picture was returned, the second picture is of the TV that is now sitting in our entertainment center waiting for us to watch it! (Just kidding, we have used it PLENTY already.)

Swim Lessons

Living in Arizona, there is no other option other than putting your kids in swim lessons so they can learn to swim. Our swimming season here lasts about 5 months a year, and most of that time the temperature outside is much higher than the average body temp., so the most comfortable way to live is to swim. It is not easy to keep comfortable in the water while watching 3 small children who are fearless of it, however, so , like any wise person should, I enrolled my kids in swim lessons. Jennifer, my sister-in-law, taught my 2 oldest last year and I have to say, she did an AMAZING job! This year proved to be a little more difficult, as Jennifer is now living very far east of AZ. Aunt Jeni got the honor this year, and my kids loved it! (ok, so McKade screamed for the first week every time he had to go under the water, but since then begs us to go swimming!) They loved the fact that at the end of their lesson, Gavin, Cauley's cousin, would bring out each kid an otter pop. (Tyli even snagged a few!) I, however, sat outside for an hour or so everyday, watching and wishing I could be in the water cooling off with my boys. I think the only thing that saved me was good company (Megan, Jenn, and all the rest of you who shared in our dread for listening to our children screaming!) and giving my non-swimming kiddos a spray bottle filled with water so I could "keep my cool!" Overall, I am sad we are done with swim lessons with Aunt Jeni for the summer. Cauley is going to take over now that he has a few (VERY FEW!) extra minutes and he has experience teaching swim to small kids. (He worked at Swim Kids USA like Jennifer and Stephanie for a summer.) I just love watching Dallin swim under the water, as he LOVES it, and McKade "monkey walking" around the pool, which makes him VERY happy-acting like an orangutan. Tyli, I am afraid for her, as she hasn't had swim lessons yet, but has absolutely NO fear of water, and will willingly walk off the side of the pool or steps. If any of you need a good referance for swim lessons, please call or email me.

Daddy's gone!

Cauley and Jeff (Cauley's younger brother) are off in New Mexico (Mexico if you ask my kids!) having fun. Ok, really, they are having a great time, but Cauley went to coach one of his track athletes in the Southwest National Meet. (The guy who won the state decathlon when I was at home with food poisoning!) Anyways, I was, and still am, determined to make the most of it- especially when I am the one needing a vacation away from my kids. (I will take 15 minutes away- any takers? They really are good kids, I just need some kind of a break.) Anyways, Cauley left early Friday morning and the fun started with Tyli waking up shortly after and running into our room to see "Daddy." The poor thing was heartbroken that her "Daddy" wasn't there. I bargained and after some cereal, milk, and a "crackah," she was ok. Friday went pretty smooth overall. The kids and I spent a few minutes over at Cauley's parents before heading off to Costco to meet up with Brad and Steph. They were really good through Costco, and even made it home without falling asleep. After some lunch, Tyli took a quick nap and the boys helped me clean up. Then we had pizza for dinner. (I bought one at Costco for our "fun" dinner.) We had a movie night, watching "Finding Nemo" again and eating popcorn. They even went to bed good! Then they woke up.

Dallin seemed determined to make everyone scream today, including myself. Tyli found her Independence and is turning out to be a little more than difficult, and McKade just wanted to be loved ALL day. (Nothing wrong with that, I just can't sit and cuddle all day.) Anyways, Tyli was found in the boys' room ripping off the border (wallpaper) where she could reach from Dallin's bed while I washed dishes. Then, about 15 minutes later, after putting "Finding Nemo" back on as a babysitter, I finally got a shower. I should have stayed in. I had just put my shirt back on when I hear Dallin yelling "Mom, Tyli's stinky but doesn't have her diaper on!" (quick check to remember if I had put one on, and I remembered putting one back on and the shorts on as well.) I run to the living room thinking she's in there. No sign of her, just her shorts she had taken off and a stinky diaper in the middle of the floor along with evidence that she had headed to the boy's room. (When I say evidence, I mean I followed the trail of brown stinky stuff on the walls and carpet!) Tyli was not in there any longer, but had definitely been been on the boy's beds again! I followed the trail into her room and found she had climbed into my rocking chair, the baby bouncy seat, and there I found her bouncing along on her zebra my mom gave her for Christmas. BATH TIME! It was a pretty big STINKY mess, but I somehow managed (with help from a package of dried fruit and her booster seat I can tightly strap her into!) to clean everything up in about 45 minutes. No time for a nap, we had to lather up in sunscreen for our ward party. That was a lot of fun- no really it was. I only lasted about an hour, running after all 3 of my kids at a neighborhood park that had kiddie pools set up every 3-4 feet and slip and slides for my kids to stand in the middle of whenever someone came running toward one. I could tell we were all getting burnt, despite my use of half a bottle of "sun lotion." So I put us all back in the stroller and we walked home, only to get even more burnt. Try explaining to a 4 year old why gas costs so much so we have to walk the 2 blocks instead of driving when it's 105 outside! After dinner, we had a great time going shopping for a Father's Day present and then off to Sonic for "Date Night." (Dallin has been asking me forever to take him on a date, so since my husband isn't in town, why not?) We went to Sonic and each of the kids got a milkshake, which are on sale right now for 99 pennies! We had a great time sitting outside, once again, in the HOT weather eating ice cream and playing McKade's favorite game of "I Spy." When we got home, all three were ready for bed, but since it was only 6:30, we read books for an hour before I gave in and let them go to sleep. So, here I sit, feeling very proud of myself that I have survived yet another day without my husband here to laugh with me at our comical children. One more day to go- and this is the real test as tomorrow is the sabbath and I get to go husbandless with my three amigos to church- and yes, we are going the full 3 hours! I just hope he's home when we get home, so maybe I'll be able to make dinner without the help of 6 unhelpful hands!

Thank You!

I was trying to think of what I have really been thankful for for my Thankful Thursday post today, and have decided to "Thank You!" Yep! I read your blogs and am so grateful for the perspective it gives me with my own life and crazy kiddos. My kids come running to the sound of me laughing out loud as I read some of your blogs like Megan, and the meanest mom, and Melissa (and lots others!). Dallin always wants to know what was so funny. They always love to sit on my lap and look at the pictures that you post, as opposed to me who doesn't have time to wait an hour per picture to load on my dial-up connection. Stephanie, Andrea, and Anne do a great job putting up tons of pictures (as well as most of you!) and I am thinking of hiring you guys out (or at least your computers) to add a couple of pictures to my blog every now and again. Like I said about four months ago, I love reading all of your blogs so I can keep in touch and see what you and your families are up to. I especially love finding old high school friends like Tami, Kira, and Courtney and am so excited when I find my college roommates like Melanie, and Annie. But really, thank you for being honest and real, allowing me to feel bad when I'm not being a fun mom or feel good for acheiving something off your list of goals! Thanks for giving me something to read that helps me deal with life's everyday situations. Who better to get advice and laughter from than friends like you?

* Just a little sidenote- I love all of your blogs and am sorry if I hurt your feelings by not meantioning you, I just picked randomly off the top of my head. Maybe, if you REALLY got your feelings hurt, post me and I'll meantion you in one of my next posts!

The promised pictures

I know I said I would post some pictures of our fun "adventures" from last week, but Cauley beat me to it. To see them, please check out our "other" blog here.

Adventures (for lack of a more creative title!)

Pictures will follow, I promise. My computer is being very odd right now and isn't allowing me to add them.

What a week! It all started off with our Memorial Day party which consisted of my fabulous family of 5 and my sister-in-law, Stephanie, and her husband, Brad, and their two sons, Parker and Bryce. They came over in the evening and I made homemade individual pizzas with a variety of toppings everyone could choose to put on their pizza. YUMMY! After dinner the kids played outside because the weather was BEAUTIFUL while some of the adults played Guitar Hero 3. While I am always in awe at the amazing abilities of my very talented husband, I was quite impressed with Brad and Steph! (You guys rocked!) I had so much fun outside with my kids and Parker, as they are so full of energy and kept me laughing with their odd comments. (Don't you just love the outlook on life from a child's point of view?) To top off our wonderful Memorial Day, we had a very delicious dessert that the Greer's brought over of cookies and ice cream.



Tuesday wasn't quite as adventurous. I did make it to a friend's bridal shower and was able to see a friend from high school, Kira (Rushdi) Adams, who happened to be down from Idaho. (Who was also throwing the shower for Amber.) Tuesday also marked the kick-off to football season for Cauley. OK, not really, but he's coaching the summer weights/conditioning program for the Freshmen. This started today and I think it pretty much goes until football school (camp) which is right before school starts. To top my day off, I got a late phone call from a good friend of mine saying she had had her baby that morning. WELCOME, Kameha Lily Noel Spence! CONGRATS Marie and Justin! We love you guys!



When asked what they wanted to do for fun on Wednesday, our boys said they wanted to go hiking. We didn't think they were actually ready to go hiking in the AZ mountains, so we took them to the Riparian Reserve Park in Gilbert Wednesday morning. What fun! (seriously, if you want to get away but don't want to drive a lot, here is your perfect destination!) We walked around, following trails and watching different birds, geese, rabbits, and turtles for over an hour! The kids had a great time looking for different animals, and we all enjoyed our time together. Of course, being in Arizona the end of May, we got hot so we walked next door to the Gilbert Library and cooled off by reading books. (My kids love the library!) We all decided we were hungry, since it was lunch time, so we headed to eat at Applebee's. (We don't know why, but it is Dallin's favorite restraunt ever. I think it has something to do with going there with Seth once upon a time.) We ate and then stopped by Best Buy to check out new TV's - ours is about to really die here pretty soon, which will be a sad day. We looked for a while and then headed home to give Tyli a MUCH needed nap. I, too, slept, which was an added bonus.

Today was also fun. It is my father-in-law's birthday. After calling and reminding a few family members about this special day, we decided to throw him a family surprise birthday dinner party. Stephanie met us with her two boys and we knocked on the door and yelled SURPRISE! and then sang "Happy Birthday." After that we all ate a delicious dinner of tostadas and burritos and then had cake and ice cream. Cauley's parents have just returned from a week long trip to DC, and the grand kids REALLY enjoyed marching around Grandma's house with their little souvenir flags (which they are so very proud to hold!). It was funny watching Tyli try and keep up with the pace which wasn't a real march, more like a jog. Tyli then screamed through her first (but very much needed!) haircut from aunt Stephanie before we said good night and brought home our very exhausted children.

I'm still here!

I am still here. I've just been REALLy enjoying having my Mr./Coach Clark home for a few days now! We have had a few fun adventures (which will be blogged about later) and have kept really busy together as a family since school let out last Thursday. I was so tired after our morning out that after coming home, I slept for about 3 1/2 hours! Cauley can sure come up with fun ways NOT to spend money! (except for a little gas, which ends up costing more than going most places that do cost money!) So please don't write me off- I promise I will share our fun later, right now I have to go make my family dinner. (I should be able to stay up and blog since I am very well rested.)

Thankful Thursday

I'll make this short. (in other words... my kids are driving me NUTS!!!) Today I am thankful for rain. As most of you fellow AZians know, today it is raining, and the temps are MUCH cooler than earlier in the week when we reached our first 110 mark for the year. (When driving home from Chic-fil-A at noon my car told me it was 54 out!) Not only is the cooler weather really nice, but the rain is a huge blessing. (Now I don't have to go out and water my flowers!) Anyways. after living in the Phoenix valley for the past 4 years now, I have come to appreciate the rain in many different aspects! I wish it would rain for another 2 weeks!

Disturbing and sad

I was loading my 3 small children into the van today so we could make our trek into our new Wal-Mart when to my horror I heard a car speeding down the street in front of us. I looked up just in time to see a small dog flying through the air, landing at the foot of the opposite side of the road neighbor's driveway. These neighbors where also getting into their vehicle to leave with their 4 small children, and upon seeing the poor pooch screaming in agony lying on their property, they ran to the rescue. Then I saw the dog's owner, who, when the tragedy unfolded, was only about 2 feet away from the poor thing, taking him for a walk. The owner quickly ran over, but couldn't bear to look down, sobbing for his lost friend. The mother of the family quickly quited the dying dog, carressing it, letting it know it was loved as the dog quietly left this world. The father ushered the kids back into the house and found a blanket to cover the dog. This is when I noticed that my youngest son saw the horrific event take place. The questions started coming after this, and I was so distraught that I had a hard time answering. We quickly said a prayer, but it was faithless. The father was now holding the very upset owner, letting him sob uncontollably on his shoulder. I didn't want to keep watching but I also couldn't take my eyes off. My kids wanted to see what was happening as I had strapped them into their seatbelts so they could no longer look towards the scene of the accident. I purposefully drove the opposite way, taking a longer route out of the neighborhood- not wanting to allow my children the chance of seeing this horrible thing. I was sad. I confess- I don't like dogs, or cats, or ANY animal for that matter, but to see something so disturbing, to know that something had been harmed because of carelessness... then I was mad! Who was this idiot driving WAY too fast down the street? This jerk had not even driven the length of 2 houses after turning a very sharp corner before he hit the poor dog and he had to have been going REALLY fast for me to have heard his car AND to have made the dog fly that far! Not only that, he was really close to hitting the dog's owner as well. To top it all off, he didn't even slow down or stop or turn around! I wish I had gotten a better look at the car or even a liscence plate number or something! My prayers go out to the family who lost their good friend, and the poor family who witnessed it all, and also my son, that he can forget everything he saw as well. Please slow down, and pay attention when driving!

Taking a little break...

Sorry- I feel like I must have fallen off the planet or something. Don't worry, I am still here, just taking a break. Actually, I have been really sick. I think I got food poisoning or something. We went and ate at Red Robin on Friday and I woke up Saturday throwing up. That led to many more trip to the bathroom because I had it coming out both ends-yuck! Cauley was gone at the State Decathlon meet, so I was home alone with the kids. By the time I put the kids to bed, (I put them to bed at 7:30 because I was so extremely exhausted and weak.) I couldn't get off the toilet. I knew I was very dehydrated despite my efforts to keep drinking Gatorade or anything else I could get to, but my body was too sick. My stomach was cramping so bad I thought I was having an appendicitis or something. I called Cauley and told him as soon as he got home he was going to have to get me to the hospital. He instead called his parents, who called Uncle Ray's house (who lives at the other end of our neighborhood) and Uncle ray came over with Brad and Stephanie. Steph took my temp. which was 103.3 and then Uncle Ray and Brad gave me a Priesthood blessing. I knew from the wording of the blessing I wouldn't need to go to the ER, which was good. They stayed with me until Mike and Kathy got there. I still felt awful but couldn't relax. My mother-in-law took my heart rate, which was high, and my fever stayed the same for about 3 hours. (We never took it again, but I started feeling better, so oh well.) The worst part was my muscles were so tired and I was so dehydrated that any time I tried to move, I would cramp up. Cauley finally made it home a little before 1:00 a.m. and we went to bed, only for me to be up in the bathroom all night. By 5:00 I was so tired and my body finally gave in and let me rest. Cauley also let me sleep- till about 10:45! Holy Cow! He made me a yummy lunch and that didn't stay down, but I did feel tons better. By noon, I started keeping things down and had less bathroom trips. By 5:00- I was perfectly fine! (Well, other than being EXTREMELY weak and tired and still a little dizzy.) Today, I feel like I was hit by a semi, but then again, I only think that because I haven't actually been hit by a semi so I don't know what it feels like. (I feel Ok today.) So please, pardon my no more posting for a few days while I recover. I have a TON to catch up on, so check in on me in a few days.

Take Me Out to the Ball game...

Disclaimer to all you women friends out there who don't like baseball:

Don't read- I will totally bore you to death, as I personally LOVE it!

What a FANtastic night!- Thanks, Cauley! (I am referring to my Valentine's Day present of tickets to the Diamondbacks/Rockies game.) Anyways, the day finally came and we found wonderful sitters. (A VERY BIG THANKS TO KATHY, MIKE, AND JEFF for watching our bambinos and putting them all to bed for us last night- especially you, Jeff, as I know you don't like "being stuck" watching our kids.) Cauley and I met at my in-laws house at five, kissed the kids good night, stopped by Hungry Howies to pick up some pizza, and drove about 45 minutes into downtown Phoenix to Chase Field for my much anticipated night out with my wonderful hubby. Upon entering the gate, we immediately spotted some fellow teachers from Higley and proceeded to our seats. TALK ABOUT AMAZING SEATS! I really couldn't have asked for better seating, unless we were to splurge (and that would have to be a MAJOR splurge!) and sit on top of the dugout. We sat just left of the left field line- right behind the left fielder; row 25 seats 1 & 2. The people in front of us sat a little lower to the field, but I don't know how well they could see everything the way we could. Anyways, we weren't sitting long before we noticed we were REALLY close to the bull pen. Randy Johnson, who I've admired for several years now, was starting to warm up and he was sure making that ball "pop" in the catcher's glove! I snuck over a few seats to watch over the wall, and was very surprised to see Mr. Johnson's head within 2 feet of my face. (That man is VERY tall! I believe he is 6'10" or something like that.) I could almost reach out and touch his face I was so close! Anyways, after some not-so-nice looks from the lady who I stood in front of, I went back to my seat and gave Cauley a chance to go watch.

The game was exciting, with the D-backs pulling out ahead in the first by scoring 3 runs and holding off Colorado. I missed the only home run hit by AZ as I called my parents and were telling them to watch the game, but that's ok. The Diamondbacks easily won. Cauley kept making fun of me for cheering so much, but hey, when you live in AZ and have only been to 2 games in a little over 8 years, you gotta give love when you have the chance.

Speaking of giving a little love- Cauley and I got on the kissing cam! Yah, we didn't see it coming, and it was an awkward kiss, but hey, it was fun! Just really weird and random we were "chosen" during that little segment.

All in all, it was a very fun night. A BIG THANKS to my amazing and wonderful husband, Cauley!
(We're still working on the picture taken of us last night and I promise I will post it as soon as we get it- if we ever do.)

I personally did not write this- Cauley, my amazing and wonderful husband did. I just stole it from his blog because I know not all of you wonderful people read his blog too and didn't want you to miss out on my wonderful mothers day story. here you go!

Now Dallin has been excited about mothers day for about two weeks. He just knew what he wanted to get Jami. He told me that we would need to go to Micheal's. So Friday he told Jami again how much she was going to like his present. Jami said but I already have you three pointing to the other kids what else do I need. He said your right! we need to get you three presents. So Sat. morning after our prestate track meet breakfast I took the kids shopping we went to Micheal and got the special rolling pin Dallin had heard Jami talk about. We also went to Target to pick out some gifts from Tyli and McKado. When we got in the car Dallin told me now we had to go to Dairy Queen. When I asked why he said we need to get mom a cake. I asked how he knew about the cake and he said from a commercial. This tells me a few things: Dallin is a very good listener and we need to be careful what we say or we might hear it somewhere else, we probably watch too much TV, and Dallin really loves his mom. I had the State Track Meet last night and Dallin made Jami call me to see when I was getting home so we could wrap the presents. He was not very happy that he would have to wait till morning. As Jami was getting ready for bed Dallin came out and went to sleep on the couch because he was going to wait for me to come home. He really was excited.

Unfortunately McKade had different plans!
Graphic Diaper talk ahead

proceed at your own risk!!!

Our kids have been getting up earlier and earlier every morning so when McKade yelled out at 5:10 neither of us really wanted to get up. So on the second call I jumped out of bed and McKade told me he was "poopy" so I told him to come into the bathroom so I could change him. After I got the diaper and wipes I walked into the bathroom and he was laying on the bathroom floor mat and was covered with poo. It was almost up to his chin and the back of his neck. I carefully took off his shirt while poo was running down his leg. (This was an early mothers day present in a way as we both wanted to get rid of that bath mat) I called for backup and started to wipe up his whole chest. McKade asked if he could take a bath. Jami took over that messy situation and I went to see what damage had been done in the bedroom. I immediately saw the puddle on the middle of the bed. It had begun to run off the bed and onto the floor. Lucky for us it dripped into and half filled a Frisbee sitting on the floor. McKade had thrown up earlier on during the week so we had towels by the bed. One of these was covered and McKade had placed poo hand prints on Dallin's comforter as he walked into the bathroom. It was pretty disgusting. I got things cleaned up and new sheets on the bed and McKade went back to bed for about an hour. I thought it was pretty ironic that this happened on Mother Day. The thing mothers have to deal with. I think we should have Mother's Day at least 4 times a year. They deserve it!
Happy Mothers Day

Gross, hu? Anyways, after listening to some of you, and reading others blogs, it sounds like there were a lot of you who enjoyed a "lovely" mother's day from both ends of your children. I, for one, think it is wonderful- after all, what do us mothers do best but clean up after ALL our children's messes!

Happy Mother's day- a day late.

Finished!

I actually finished a few days ago, but for some reason my blog isn't updating my chart as it's supposed to be doing. (May have something to do with our dial-up Internet.) Today is the "finish day" so I decided to post about it. Anyways, I am so thankful to have done this, as reading my scriptures is a bit of a challenge for me. I have to say, I have thoroughly enjoyed it! I especially love it when Dallin comes in and reads with me during quiet time. Maybe I'll treat myself to some ice cream or something. Anyone want to join me?

Better late than never!

I totally forgot to update everyone on Tyli and her "spoiled-so-not-walking" situation. Well, last Wednesday, I was in the middle of teaching preschool when she stood up right in front of me and took off walking into the kitchen. It took us all by surprise so we all stopped and just watched as she tottled back into the living room. I must have looked completely shocked, because she started laughing at me as she continued to walk around the living room and back into the kitchen. The little stinker could do it all along- she was just too stubborn to show us! She still prefers to crawl, but when I catch her doing so, I just say "Stand up and walk, Tyli!" to which she does. She's still a little wobbly, but she fared pretty well at the park yesterday, and is even trying to run to keep up with her brothers. Yay! I think Cauley was right when he said that she's not spoiled- just stubborn! Now if only I could somehow keep her out of everything.... maybe I'll just buy a whole bunch of padlocks to put on everything so NONE of my kids can get into my stuff...