They say it's your birthday...

{I tried to post this on your actual birthday, but, I couldn't get pictures to upload and was not having much luck with anything...sorry. I did, however, do this on your birthday!}

Happy birthday to you, Mom! We hope that you have a good day! We wish we could celebrate with you! Maybe if you come to our house soon we'll have another party for you! It'll be fun! We love you and miss you so much!

{the shirt actually says, "i love grandma", but with this kids chubby body, it doesn't fit right...}

{guilt for the grandmas...}

Macie misses both of her grandmas. To a point where she has made up a grandma that is with her all of the time. She talks to her "grandma", plays with her outside, and even reads her stories. So, Momo and Nana? You need to come visit. {For Macie's sake!}

"I like grapes"

After our Young Women activity last Tuesday, I stopped at the store. {First of all, a new grocery store opened up near us, and I LOVE it, but that's a whole different post!}
So, I stopped at the store to pick up a few things. As I walked in there were a tons and tons of grapes. I looked at the sticker on the grapes and it said $1.24. I looked at it again, still $1.24. It was a 4 pound box of grapes! 4 POUNDS FOR ONE DOLLAR AND TWENTY FOUR CENTS! I was shocked! So I box 4 boxes. Yes, I'm sure they were about to expire, but I got them anyway. I brought them home and was laughed at. 16 pounds of grapes is quite overwhelming, it's a lot of grapes. No one thought we could eat them.

Well, we did. All 16 pounds. I was going to freeze some, but we ate them. They were so good. Between 3 adults and 2 children, we ate all of those grapes! I don't know if that's gross or not, but we really did enjoy them. We just had a bowl full of them. And would refill them as soon as they were gone. It was nice having fruit like that so accessible. It made me feel like such a good mom!

Swimming Lessons

Noah started swimming lessons. Well, it's not technially LESSONS, really. More like a water exploration, I guess. But he loves it! He goes Monday through Friday for 2 weeks. He's actually made progress. The first day he refused to get his head wet, now he goes under the water! Very impressive to me. I hate getting my head wet, so go Noah for doing what his mother can't!

Happy Belated Birthday, Papa

{I am a slacker. I'm sorry. Please accept my apologies.}

Papa, WE LOVE YOU! Happy Birthday! This was quite a birthday, the big 7-0! Wow! We hope that you had a great day! And we wished that we could have been there to celebrate! I think you need to jump on the ol' Amtrak and head down to Santa Maria. You're always welcome! We miss you! Sorry this is so late, but Happy Birthday!

Harry Potter 6

Yes, I am a nerd. I have read every Harry Potter book. I told myself that I never would. But, alas, I have read all 7 books. And liked them, even. I was excited about the new movie. But, I think I have to reread the book. It was a very long book, and I don't remember if what I missed is in the next book or in the 6th book. I don't know. It was a good movie anyway, there were a few things different and a few things left out, but the basic story was there, I guess. Afterall it is a freaking long book and only a 2 hour movie. You can't have the ENTIRE book there.


We went to the drive in, and since it was only PG this time, we were perfectly fine with the kids staying up to watch the movie. Noah was pretty excited about it as well. He went in "costume". I drew the lightening bolt scar on his forehead, and he wore his Harry Potter glasses. He looked awesome. He loved it. We got to the drive-in a little early to ensure our spot. And I think we were there a little too early. They kids played a lot, and there was a lot of running around. Which, resulted in Noah falling asleep about half an hour into the movie. Oh, well. There is always the DVD.

Pioneer Day.

July 24

One of my favorite Pioneer DAY stories {as opposed to just Pioneer stories...} is one of our old neighbors from Donegel Bay in Rexburg. A few years prior, our neighbor, Deb was selling encyclopedias {I think} somewhere further East. Deb is from Utah. This was her summer job. On Pioneer Day, as she was out selling, she would wish the people a happy Pioneer Day. After many confused looks she had received, her selling companion finally told her that it is only a celebrated holiday in Utah. (I probably butchered the story, but you get the idea.) And it's true. Even member of the church in other states don't usually recognize Pioneer Day, with the exception of Idaho. But, in Santa Maria, California, a group of really good mommies made sure their kids learned about Pioneers on Pioneer Day, and take them on a mini "trek", aka: stroller ride. And I was one of those mommies!

I made Macie a little Pioneer bonnet on Thursday night. And I remembered that I don't sew. What was I thinking making a bonnet?? I started at around 10, thinking that it shouldn't take too long. The pattern looked easy enough. Yeah, if you can read a pattern. After a few hours, I finally finished it and was in bed by around 2 AM! It looked pretty cute. I had all three kids clothes laid out for them. A "pioneer" dress for Macie {or the dress that my Mom said that I wore when I was 5...oh, how styles change...DRAMATICALLY!} jeans and a button up shirt for Noah, overalls for Jake, and I couldn't forget the bandanas for the boys, too. The looked like cute little Pioneer children. I showed them pictures of Pioneers and told them about them. But, I made a huge mistake.

I don't know what in the world I was thinking. I was just telling pioneer stories, no harm right? Well, I said this:

"Some pioneers were little kids, just like you. They had to walk a long way. But, some of them got sick and died."

It seemed alright, until Noah and Macie's eyes got HUGE. Both of them looked a little horrified and said almost in unison:

"We don't want to go."

I felt awful. My poor kids thought they were going to die if they were Pioneers! I'm a terrible mother. I tried to make it all fun and then I tell them that people died? How fun is that? But, I made up for it. I told lots and lots of good stories and reassured them that this would be fun!

We headed over to Kristyns house, and started the stew. Pioneers ate a lot of stew, don't ya know? And then we got the kids read and headed out on our "trek". It was fun. The kids walked, and sang, of course. Noah wanted to go home right away, but I told him that we were Pioneers and we had to walk even though he didn't want to. It sounds like it was torture, but it was fun, I promise!

Jelly Belly Factory

Adam had a seminar he had to attend in Fairfield. For those who don't know, Fairfield is the home of Jelly Belly. That's right, the Jelly Belly Factory...and they do tours. And yes, we had to go. I had been with my roomates before, and thought it would be fun to take the kids. Adam kept saying it was the nerdiest thing he had ever done. {HELLO?! He collects comic books, and a Jelly Belly Factory tour was nerdy?? I'm thinking, not so much, babe!}When we got there, we had to wear these paper hats. They were pretty cool hats. The kids loved them. Adam did not. He would not let me get a picture of him. So, I was sneaky. I took one when he least expected it. I was so proud of myself. I had documentation...I had proof that Adam was on the Jelly Belly Factory tour. You can't take pictures while on the tour, but they do take your picture as you start the tour, and then try to scam you into paying 20 bucks for a cheesy picture.

While on this tour, we saw millions and millions of Jelly Bellys. We saw the whol process and learned more about jelly beans than any person should know, really. I was carrying Jacob in the Baby Bjorn, and he was getting heavy. With the diaper bag and everything, I was dying. So I had Adam hold the diaper bag. Bad idea...he was sneaky as well. He deleted the picture. I was so bummed. No evidence.

Oh, but wait. They did hand me a card after they took our picture prior to the tour. And yes, there was a website. And yes, our picture was there, and yes, you can publish it on the web on your personal site. And yes, I will post it now:


Proof. However, after the Jelly Belly Tour Adam picked a guitar factory that we were to tour. He loved it. But, his 3 kids and non guitar playing wife, did not. Noah did get to play a very expensive guitar, and Adam was a pretty happy guy, so I guess it was okay!

County Fair.

I'm not much of a fair person. It's too expensive. The ride are expensive, and totally not Disneyland. I'm afraid that they will fall apart any second. But, it was dollar day. For a cheap thrill, it was worth it. I went with my friend Kristyn and her little boy, Thacker. The kids loved it. It was actually pretty fun. If you go with low expectations, it makes it all the better! Noah and Macie got to ride a few rides, play a few games, and see a few animals. And I think I spent like 8 bucks total. Not too bad, really.

Noah loved the petting zoo. Macie...not so much. She liked the animals from behind the fence, but when she was inside, and they started walking toward her, she lost it. She hated it. But, she still had fun. Gotta love county fairs!

{there will be more on the fair in a later post...maybe with some Boyz II Men action...yeah, I said it, Boyz II Men...they are still doing shows. Who knew?!}

7 month comparison

Yeah, I know. I have the cutest kids. It's funny to look at these pictures. Noah looks tiny and very subdued. Macie looks crazy happy. Jacob looks bored and not happy. But, funny thing is, that is almost the exact opposite of what they REALLY are like. Well, with the exception of Macie. It just isn't what other people remember Macie being like at 7 months. She is such a Momma's girl that she just scowled at EVERYTHING except me for a while! Noah and Jacob are usually smiley, but just as Jacob is now, Noah was teething at the same age, so they aren't the happiest of campers in these pictures! But, they are all still very cute. Even if they weren't my kids, I'd still think they were pretty cute. I mean, who wouldn't?? ;-)