Riding The Train

Today we went on a ride on the FrontRunner train. It is free until tomorrow to get people to try it out. Let's just say that a lot of people tried it out. Jenn and I took the kids and we decided to ride it and go to the Gateway for the afternoon. We had a good time, except for the fact that there were no seats on the train. It was hard for Ethan each time we stopped at a stop because he thought it was time to get off. It probably would've been better if we were able to sit with the kids in some seats and get them situated for the ride, but it was too crowded today, probably because it was free. Ethan had a good time looking out the window and riding the train, but by the time we were about halfway home, he and I were both ready to be done. It was hot and we were both tired. He fell asleep on the way home. :) I took a couple of pictures while we were on the train with my phone. I wanted to take my actual camera, but surprise surprise the batteries are dead and the ones I bought have walked away somewhere...oh well. My impression of the FrontRunner...it's a good idea. It's a good train, but wait until the free days are over until you ride. There were way too many people on there today.

Riding the train.

Eating fries on the frontrunner train.

Kitty slipper in the box.

What A Good Day...

Today was a really good day. Jenny and I got to hang out today, something we haven't been able to do for the past little bit due to sickness, etc. It was great to reconnect and have some fun. We went on a car ride and then went to Dairy Queen for lunch. We had a great time. The kids loved their food and their ice cream...as pictured below...Jack loves it.

After lunch, we took the kids to the park where they played and played. They love the park. Ethan loves the slides and climbing through all of the tunnels.

The sun was beautiful outside today. There were a lot of people out today too. The kids love that. They always make new friends when we go to the park. I wish I was as outgoing as them.

After the park, we went to Jenny's house for a bit and relaxed. Then it was off to bed for the kids...

I took a small detour on the way home to get a couple of things at the store and Ethan escaped from the stroller at the store....I guess he's getting old enough to really not like shopping. He fell asleep on the way home. Yay for nap time!

What a good day. So mundane, but so great.

Jack loves ice cream.

Hard To Imagine...

I stumbled upon this blog yesterday and it has me thinking about a lot of things. The person writing the blog is a young mother, about my age, with a son who is a bit older than Ethan. Her husband passed away in his sleep just after Thanksgiving last year. I can't imagine losing my husband so young. I know we all pass on, but it somehow seems unfair when a loved one is called home in such an unexpected time.


Reading her words really made me think about Dan and how grateful I am for him. He's here with me...regardless of all else, he is here with me on this Earth right now. I can't imagine going through what she is going through...raising a young son without her partner at her side here on Earth.


Today I'm thinking about what love really means and somehow, when faced with the ultimate separation, all of the other little problems seem to fade into the background.

Limitless Imagination

Ethan is growing up so much. Last night we were reading a book together. It was one of his picture books that he loves that has lots of animals in it. When we got to the sea animals page, he loved it. Everything was Spongebob! He was so excited. He even started to make up stories a little. The picture of the jellyfish was in dark water and so he kept saying that the jellyfish was swimming in the dark. It was funny. He was acting like the jellyfish should be scared until I said it was okay. Then he was fine. It was cute. He really liked the meerkats in the book. We'll see how all of this translates when we go to the zoo. It will be fun this year because I think he'll really start to understand more. I think he'll really be aware of his surroundings more. Watching your kids grow up teaches you so much. It's an amazing feeling.

American Idol Update

So Carly Smithson got eliminated tonight. I thought she was a really good singer, but I don't know if she deserved to go tonight or not. I don't think she was going to win, and she wasn't my favorite by far...It was interesting to say the least. Oh well, when you get to the point when there are this few people left in the competition they're all generally going to be good singers. It's just a question as to whether or not they have the other factors like personality, etc.

What I Learned From Liz...

Liz always says one thing that has stuck with me. "Everything is always better after a nap." Today I have learned this to be true. I went from having not so great of a day filled with frustrations and translation of toddlerese to a much more tranquil me. It's amazing what an hour of sheer relaxation can do for you.

What a day...

Things have been going pretty well today. I've just been taking care of things here at home. I watched American Idol tonight. It was Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber night...an interesting choice to say the least. I love David Cook though. Totally my kind of guy. I think he's probably my favorite.


In other news, Zach had another seizure today. Poor Jenn. She said that his little body got used to the dosage of his anti-seizure meds and so they had to do a little adjusting. At least her mom was with her when it happened and they were really close to Primary's. Poor little guy. I hope he's feeling better now.


Have you ever noticed the weird things Toddlers are obsessed with? With Ethan, it's any kind of stick. It could be a curtain rod that he randomly finds somewhere in the house, an actual stick, or even the broom but it's always a stick with him. It's funny, we have all of these toys for our kids, but they still find the most unlikely things to play with. Lately, his obsession has been with pushing buttons. He loves to help me cook things in the microwave. At least he's not eating cat food anymore, at least that I know of....He is however, still putting cat food in the cat's water. This makes a fine paste, or goo if you will that he is very pleased with. Too bad mommy isn't pleased with it.



It's amazing how much he absorbs. I'm always telling the cats to shut up. They whine a lot. Well, the other day, Ethan said shut up. It's amazing how much he understands and absorbs. I guess I'll have to watch how I talk to the cats...

So today is Earth Day...

If you knew that, great. If not, here you go. One thing that's bugging me today about it though is everyone is so about every cause. I mean, I have nothing against protecting the planet and I'm trying to do better to do my part to keep it a great place to be, but some people are taking it way too far.

This is the thing that bugs me...of course, every show that was on today was about Earth Day. That's fine I guess, but I'm just feeling a little bombarded with causes to support at the moment. I mean, I'm supposed to live green, take care of the AIDS epidemic in Africa, make sure to protect myself from skin cancer and various other types of cancers, encourage others to stop smoking, etc. On top of this, I'm supposed to be doing all my other things like cleaning the house, taking care of Ethan, reading my scriptures, being kind to others, etc.

I agree that these causes deserve attention, but I mean come on. It's like every day there is a new thing that has come out...plastic is bad, lead paint on toys, etc. I'm just a little burned out on being crusaded at. I'm into tranquility these days. I'm not a warrior. I'm just trying to live my life and make the world better in small ways. Hopefully that's enough. Granted, I'm not perfect, but at least I'm doing something. I don't know, I am all for activism...that's one of the things that our great nation is based upon, but could they just pick one thing for a while. I don't have the attention span for everything!

My first tulip of spring.

Dancing In The Rain

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain.

I saw this quote recently and thought it was really great. Not that I'm going through anything particularly trying right now, but how often do we not embrace the trials that we are in? I don't mean we should mascochistically enjoy the trials, but I think we should at least try to find the good in them. I find myself resisting and fretting over things, trying to open my umbrella, if you will, when storms come my way. Maybe a better way to handle this is to just continue on, knowing that even if I'm not able to get that umbrella open, the storm will be over soon and any day it's raining, it's still a day I have here on Earth. There's still time for me within that storm to have some good in my life.

I don't know, just something to think about.

Here are some better pictures...

Ben came over last night and he brought a few better pictures of little Victoria...Isn't she cute?

FW:

This is my new niece Victoria Rose. Congratulations Ben and Lisa.

Ethan loves to swing.

Ethan at the park.

A Glimpse of Eternity

I can only imagine what eternity will feel like being with my family. I think I got a glimpse of that this morning. Sometimes, I think I take my family for granted. I move about the daily tasks and just move forward without really thinking about things. This morning, while watching Ethan and interacting with him, it came to me how deep my love for him really is. I wonder if that will be what it feels like in the eternities, at least on some degree. He is such a sweet little boy. He is definitely not always easy to deal with, especially when he's testing his boundaries as he is presently, but he is mine and I am his. This special bond between us is not something I could have ever imagined feeling. I love being his mommy. I love him so much. I'm so grateful for him. He sees the best in all situations and is happy even when things aren't great, case in point the whole car breaking down/riding in the tow truck situation. When I look at him I wonder who he will grow up to be. I can only hope that I can teach him the right ways to live and that he will follow them. Anyway, just thought I'd share that.

Snow!

I wish the weather would just make up its mind already. I wish it would actually stay spring for more than a day. It was like high 70s yesterday and snowing today at my house. Grrrr. That's what I have to say....

Today I Am Grateful For...

Sickness...yeah, you heard right. Dan was sick today. He caught what Ethan and I had, but just not quite as horrible...still bad mind you, but not two days in bed bad. Anyway, after sleeping most of today, he helped me out by mopping the kitchen. Since he was home sick, he was able to get better, take care of himself, and help me clean a little. :)

Ethan likes ring pops.

Well...We Got Our Car Back

Well, we got our car back. It's all fixed and the new engine works. It was a nice little drive for Dan and I up to Brigham to go get it. We also stopped at a cute store up there and I was able to get a couple of fun shirts. I guess all's well that ends well. Other than that, things have been going well. I have just been hanging out here at home. Ethan had a cold this past week and I think I got a piece of it from him. Hopefully the worst is over and I'll be over it soon. I slept a lot yesterday and stuff so hopefully that will help too.

Do you like my new background? I made it myself. :) The website where I was getting them isn't doing them anymore so I decided to figure it out on my own. Now that I have, I can change it anytime I want. :)

Fun On The Interstate

I got this email from Dan this morning so I had to share.

Instructions for a fun time on the interstate............... Step 1. Tie balloons to car. Step 2. Drive like Crazy. Step 3. Watch people freak out!!!! Can you imagine this guy going 90 mph on his way to Dallas with these balloons trailing a few yards behind him? I don't care who you are....that's funny.

Interesting New Movement

I was waiting for my mom to come watch Ethan yesterday so I could go get my hair done and Oprah was on. She was talking about this "A New Earth" book stuff. Mind you, I have not read the book, but I found it kind of interesting. She had a lay minister who was Catholic on the show. She had read the book and was talking about how it had changed her perspective on Christ. For her, prior to reading this book, it was all about the fact that he died for her sins. She said it was this book that made her realize that his purpose on the Earth was much bigger, showing us by devine example how to live our lives the right way. It was so foreign to me that people just view Christ as all about his death. It has never been that way for me, being LDS and all. It is definitely a part of everything, the way he suffered and died for our sins, but his purpose was so much more than that, so much greater. I just thought it was interesting that people were just starting to realize this great "secret" that us Mormons have. Could this prepare a way for the Church to reach more people by preparing them to open their hearts and minds to the Spirit? I don't know. It's interesting though.

What's This?

What's this you say? This is a damaged spark plug. One of the many things plaguing my car at the moment. Mine melted! Have you ever heard of that?

Perspective

Sometimes in life, we get so absorbed in ourselves. We get consumed by all of the little tasks and appointments we have each day. We have our jobs, our upkeep on our homes, our families. Humans, by nature, can be really self centered. I know this from experience. Sometimes the most important thing to me is getting the laundry done above all else.

The other day, while walking outside, I came to realize something. You pass someone on the street and you don't really think much beyond another person passing you. Have you ever wondered where they're headed, what their story is, or who they are? It made me realize how small we all really are in this huge world. Everyone, even the little kids you see on the television have stories. They all have lives that are as consuming as our own. It's amazing to me how into ourselves we can be sometimes.

Something to think about. We really are just specks on this huge world. Our lives are no bigger or smaller than anyone else. It's all about perspective. I don't mean this to say that we're nothing or to be a downer. It is just something I have been thinking about. It feels good to be part of a bigger global family, an eternal family.

Well...when it rains....

We were hoping the car wouldn't be too expensive to fix...even though we knew it would be. We just got the call from Big O up in Brigham. Not only did the head gasket blow, but it would actually be cheaper to get a new engine....well, at least it's cheaper than a new car. I will be without a car for this week so hopefully friends will take pity on me and come here to see me. At least I have a computer still and a phone. It's times like these I'm glad we have a park and other things so close. Thank goodness a Subway is within walking distance. That way I don't have to feel so totally isolated. I guess everything happens for a reason. The amount that it's going to cost to fix the car is almost the exact amount that Dan will be getting for tuition reimbursement. At least we don't have to go further into debt to fix it. Oh well. Cars break down. That's life. I just wish it didn't have to be that way. I'll have my car back this weekend better than new probably. It will last us a long time now. I'm glad for that.

Vicki

So, yesterday was the two year anniversary of Vicki's death. It's so weird to think that it has actually been two years. So much has changed in that time. Ethan has grown up so much. It's so strange to think that she was here one minute and not here the next. I am happy for her in a way though. Even though she's not physically here anymore, at least she's not in pain anymore. We all miss her terribly, but I know she's still around sometimes. We love her. I know we'll get to see her again. I hope she's up there getting to know her future grandkids and introducing them to their parents.

So Much Easier!

I'm finding with this new blogger format it's so much easier to use. I have so many more options. I can post via email, post via my cell phone, or post online the old fashioned way. It's way more convenient and I have a lot more options as far as being able to make my blog look the way I want it to look. Hopefully it's fun for you to look at. :)

Ethan in the tow truck.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog! I had a little snafu with the Wordpress one and that was the thing that pushed me over the edge to switch to Blogger. I hope you have as much fun with it as I do. I was also able to do a way cute background on this one.

Let's see, what has been going on...well, we went up to Mike & Chris' house in Logan yesterday. We were going up there to take the new bees up to set them up for the season. Well, on the way, just outside of Brigham City, our car broke down. We had to call a tow truck, have Mike come down to Brigham and get us (we still had live bees in the trunk), and have the car taken to a place to fix it. Thank goodness for full coverage car insurance. Ethan had a good time riding in the tow truck. It was bouncy, a lot more bouncy than the car. Anyway, he had a good time. He even said to me, as we were getting out of the tow truck, "This is the best day ever." His catch phrase from Spongebob that he uses when he's having a particularly fun time.

Mike and Chris were really great to us. They let us stay up there for the night and Mike even drove us back down today. The girls also babysat for us and we were able to go out to dinner and a movie with Mike, Chris, Chris' sister Michelle, and Michelle's husband Kenny. Thank goodness for family. Hopefully, for their sake, we'll never have to return the favor. I wouldn't wish a smoking car on the side of the freeway to anyone, but if they do, we'll be there with bells on.

The other reason I decided to go with Blogger is that you can mobile blog really easily so I'll be able to send pictures right from my cell phone if we're on vacation or whatever. :) Anyway, enjoy!