Summer or not...here we come!

On Monday, the forecast for Tuesday was predicted to be a nice, toasty, 80 degrees. So my friend, Amanda, and I came up with the grand idea of getting together at her house and letting the kids play on the slip-and-slide while we laid out in the sun to soak up some rays. The kids were so excited. So Tuesday dawns...and its not so sunny and definitely not toasty. The day proved to be overcast, only vaguely warm, and crazy windy. We still headed over to Amanda's to enjoy some lunch and good company, but all the kids had their heart set on the slip-and-slide. So we decided that if they were crazy enough to do it, we'd let them. I wish pictures could convey how truly non-slip-and-slide friendly the weather really was.

Here's the kids all lined up and ready to go.



And here's some video of the actual event. I think they were a little timid to get started once they felt how cold the water was. But they went through with it...crazy kids.



Here's the cute kids, Savannah, McKenna, Owen, and Mathew, all bundled up after realizing how cold it really was.



While the older kids were out having fun with the slip-n-slide, here's what the babies were doing, all warm in the house.

This is Amanda's baby, sweet little Felicity.



And though you can't see him, Nathaniel is sleeping soundly, hidden under the blanket. I'm sure he's just the poster child for SIDS, but the kid will not sleep until he manages to pull a blanket over his face.



Then I just had to share how I found him once he woke up. I love his little peepers.



Though sometimes hard and overwhelming, having kids is so much fun.

Life as a single mom

So these last 3 1/2 months without Brandon being around much have been busy and difficult. I can't believe how big of a mess my house is, and it seems I can barely keep up with everything sometimes. However, I have been informed by this strange man who hangs around our house every now and then (I think he may or may not be my husband) that he has finals this week and then I will have him back for a wonderful two weeks before he'll disappear for the summer semester. Having to actually find a way to make it financially in this world bites.

My endeavour to become more of a runner isn't going very well. My hip joints ache, I have shin splints, and there's a large bruise under my left big toenail. I really hope it doesn't fall off. (Oh how I wish I was just exaggerating to be funny.) Its discouraging. I keep wondering if maybe I'm not meant to be a runner, but then I remember that I've only been trying for less than a week and I have to remind myself to think realistically. I've been reading the most hysterical book about training for a marathon. Not that I'm training for marathon, I just wanted some humorous tips about running for beginners, and boy does this book offer them. If ever you're looking into training for a marathon, or just wanting to start running, I highly recommend this book. The woman who wrote it truly understands me.

So due to Brandon being completely consumed with studying for finals, we've really had nothing going on to speak of. But I do have a couple of cute new pictures of Nathaniel. Enjoy!





He's my sweet little blue eyes.

The Huffin' Puffer

I am such a wimp. I have been trying for years to lose the baby weight I gained with McKenna...and the even more weight that may have come after that. I'm actually quite the weight-loss expert. I have read book after book and countless magazines, and my exercise DVD collection is quite impressive. In regards to all my knowledge on the subject, I really should have the rockin' body of a personal trainer. Really, why don't I? Well, imagine my surprise to learn you actually have to apply that knowledge and participate with the DVDs. Who knew?
Well, in an effort to help me with this reoccurring New Years Resolution of mine, my bff Katie (I use the term bff to reveal my hip, 13-year-old persona) has talked me into training with her for a 5k race taking place in August. Yes, I realize most people don't need 4 months to train for a 3 mile race, but most people aren't as horribly out of shape as I am. So for the first time in over a year, I went running and Katie was good enough to accompany me. (I need accompanying because I know if I went alone my "run" would last all of 5 minutes before I would come up with some lame reason why I had to return home immediately.) Holy crap. I cannot express enough how much effort this took for me. Poor Katie probably felt as though she was out for a nice leisurely stroll while I was panting heavily and seeing black spots. I also could taste blood at the back of my throat...is that bad? Katie is a great sport and has -- for some strange reason -- agreed to meet me twice a week for her leisurely stroll and my half hour of torture. I'm really hoping to not be on the verge of fainting sometime in the near future.

Betcha can't tell we're brothers...

So I really have nothing exciting or witty to say. Just wanted to post a cute picture I took of my boys a couple of days ago. They're just too cute.

My Little Laughing Nater

I simply cannot believe it! I finally figured out how to add a video and have it actually work. My little boy recently started laughing and I firmly believe it is the best sound in the whole world. If you have kids of your own, you may think their laughter is cuter -- whatever -- I suppose everyone is entitled to their own opinion.



I don't have much to report for this week. I painted (ok fine, my friend Brianne painted) the dividing wall between my living room and kitchen. I couldn't be more excited about this. I've been living in this house for nearly 5 years (give or take the 5 months we tried renting it out) and my walls are still boring and beige as can be. I am not good at decorating and I really dislike painting. So a big thanks to Brianne for trying to help me do something interesting, and when that didn't work, for doing it for me. Here's Bri painting my wall.



I want to hang up all my pictures and my shelf before I post the finished product. Also, here's a cute pic of McKenna, Bri's daughter Sydney, and their friend Savannah, hanging out in the kitchen while we paint. They're such girls, it makes me smile.



I also experienced an exceptionally bad and annoying hair day over the weekend which caused me to take immediate action and have all my hair chopped off. Well, 7 inches of it anyway. I would post a picture of this fabulous new haircut (given to me by the talented Julie) but I don't have a picture. I would take a picture of myself with the haircut, but....well, I just don't want to. Again, I prefer to be behind the camera, not in front of it. In other haircut news, last week Brandon surrendered to the battle of hair loss and finally buzzed all his hair off. It's just never quite grown back quite as full after the chemotherapy. But he still looks as handsome as ever. I also took Mathew into Julie and he's now sporting a proper haircut after the hack job we gave him a few weeks ago. McKenna is dying to cut her hair short too now that her friend Sydney (in the above picture) has a new 'do. She has her appointment all set for the middle of next month, after her big dance show. Wow, there's a big boring paragraph about our family haircuts for ya!

That's all. Stay tuned!

Bumps and Bruises

My poor girl. Last night I took McKenna to dance. As we were waiting for the previous class to get out, McKenna started dancing around in her tap shoes on the slippery floor when she slipped and landed smack on her forehead. It was so sad. She was absolutely inconsolable. Here's her battle scar, though you really can't see it very well. She obviously didn't feel up to smiling for the camera.



All the other parents who witnessed her fall were so helpful and friendly. Someone immediately went to get her some ice and I was bombarded by advice and information about watching for a concussion. I must look to be quite the naive mother as everyone assumed I had no idea what symptoms to look for. Fortunately, other than being very tearful, complaining of a headache, and sporting a nasty, swollen bruise; she was and still is perfectly fine. Mathew however has been suffering greatly from "I-can't-stand-my-sister-getting-all-the-attention-itis". The symptoms including: whining, crying, tantrum-throwing, and extreme neediness. If anyone knows a cure for this annoying sickness, please let me know.

My New Favorite Movie

I just got done watching what I think has become my new favorite movie. It's probably the single most cheesy movie I have ever seen, but dangit if I still didn't absolutely love it all the same.
Anyone seen this?? The movie started out with such lame lines that I fought to control rolling my eyes, but in the end the music made my heart nearly pound right out of my chest, and I was completely won over -- cheesy lines and all. I hopped right onto Amazon.com and spent money I don't have
to buy the soundtrack which I will be playing non-stop until I'm so sick of it I can hardly stand it. Well, maybe not that much, but I did feel very moved. I'm a far cry from musically talented, but I do greatly appreciate all kinds of music just the same. If you feel the same, you should check the movie out. Though you may not love it like I did. While I was nearly sobbing as the credits ran, I asked Brandon what he thought and he replied, "It was pretty good." So there you are, a movie review from not exactly the most professional movie critics.

This week and weekend have been pretty uneventful. Mathew had his 4 year check-up and his pediatrician informed me he's doing wonderful and that I'm doing a great job, always good to hear (though I'm certain he says that to everyone). I attended my nephews wedding today (Congrats again Gary and Amy!). And other than that, we're just devoted General Conference listeners this weekend. See, this is proof that my life is so action-packed that I resort to blogging out my movie reviews. I hope everyone is having a great weekend.