The Harvard Dilemma

The other day we were driving in the car and my older son, who is the mature age of 8 years, mentioned he had a little bit of a dilemma. He seemed pretty overwhelmed with this.  Out of curiosity,  I asked him what that was.  He said that he has always wanted to go to Harvard for college.  However, he now is deciding if BYU would be a better choice. Why is this? Well, because BYU costs much less and so he feels like it may be the smarter financial choice.
(My first thought was, since when have you researched the different financial costs of Educational Institutions? In between reading The Lightening Thief books and playing the wii?)
 My younger son responded that he IS going to go to Harvard.  I asked him why he wants to go to Harvard.  His timeless response, "So I can work at McDonalds!".  


If they only knew the amusement that they consistently provide.

Catching Waves

I have been waiting to post about our Memorial Day trip until I had all of the pictures developed (forgot my phone, and therefore camera, so we went the disposable route.  Yes, they still make them.), however I decided to just give you what I've got.  So, we went to Santa Monica.  We had SO much fun. We decided it was a great way to celebrate a few birthdays.  It was Ernie's b-day a few days before, and my sister Micah's birthday was that weekend so we invited her to come along as a b-day gift.
Ernie has ALWAYS wanted to go surfing.  I surprised him by getting surfing lessons for Big E and Little E.  Little E was AMAZING.  He was really good and he absolutely loved it.

 Here are my 3 boys with Samantha, the surfing coach.  I have so many great pictures of Caleb playing in the ocean.  Of course, he made friends.  And I have a bunch of Ernie actually surfing.  I will make this a more complete post when I can. 

Room service helped us provide a thorough birthday experience with breakfast in bed. 

We had a great time.  Ernie is now saving every penny for a surf board :) 

Can't wait to add more pictures. And talk more about what we did.  So tune in shortly. 

Glimpses of Hope

It is summer.  I have great kids, I really do.  And I am grateful every day for everything that they are becoming. But it is summer.  This means that there is often a little, well irritation with each other. General exhaustion coupled with it makes some moments very interesting in our home.  Most of you parents, I am assuming, know what I am talking about.
Yesterday I had one of those rare moments where you think, "hmmmm maybe I am a decent mom." (I am sure there have been more, but I have tried to remember a few of them. A few years ago now I wrote this post, and a few months ago I posted this).
And this may not be a big deal to a lot of you.  But to me, this was a moment of utopia. I walked into the kitchen last night and one son was taking out the trash.  The other one was unloading the dishwasher.  And for a moment, before I am sure they started to argue again about something ridiculous,  I was the happiest a mom could be.

My Best Friend

Ten years ago I made the best decision I have ever made. 

I married this guy.  He was cute, and we were SO in love.  But I really had no idea what kind of a man he had yet to become.  I know how blessed I am.  He is amazing. 

 This past week has been one of those weeks that my admiration for him has grown even more.  

  He hasn't complained once this week.  He has kept up the laundry, made lunches, gotten homework done, "trained" with the kids in the mornings, read scriptures, kept the house cleaned (even vacuumed) , made dinner, and the list could go on and on.  To top all of that off, he has come home nearly every day at lunch to check on me and make sure I have taken all of my medicine, etc. 

I definitely don't feel worthy of him, but for whatever reason, I am blessed beyond words to have him.

Ten years ago I had no idea what having a best friend meant.  Now I do. Ten years ago I thought that I knew what love meant.  But now I realize what it really means.  Ernie has showed me.  

April 9th

April 9th was a big day for this guy (my Dad).

It was his birthday.  And what better way to start out the day that by doing this:

That's right.  Running a 10k. Nothing says "you're doing alright even though you are a year older" like coming in first for your age division in a VERY difficult race.  The last 4 miles were completely straight uphill.  He's amazing.

 These two love bugs ran their first marathon together that morning as well.  We went to cheer them on as they came in at the end of mile 26.  I was so proud of them.  It was amazing to watch them push each other to make it to the very end. 

I love my Dad and I am very grateful for everything he does for now not only me, but for my husband and two boys as well.   And I'm grateful that I got to celebrate his special day with him. 

Class Pet

I adore Caleb's kindergarten teacher.  She is wonderful.  One of her latest adventures was letting the kids incubate some chick eggs.  The boys would ask to go and see them often after school.  One day, right after spring break, Caleb was SO excited.  We ran in and the eggs had hatched while we were on Spring Break.  

There were now a bunch of baby chicks (Well, I think 3).  Mrs. Buelle let the boys play with them a little that afternoon.  They LOVED Caleb! No joke, they were jumping up on him and all the kids were in hysterics watching. 

Ernie thought is was pretty funny too.  Especially when they kept trying to eat his shoe laces. 

Caleb, one of the chicks, and Caleb's look-a-like Zachary.  People always get thee two confused. It's pretty funny.

I am so grateful for afternoons that I get to spend like this with my boys.  

The Eiffel Tower

One afternoon a few weeks ago Caleb wanted to build something with popsicle sticks.  I got out all of the supplies and he knew exactly where he was heading with his little project.  I had to take a picture. 

What little boy decides he wants to build the Eiffel Tower with popsicle sticks and then goes to town?  That's my Caleb.  

Always A Great Day For A Picnic

A while ago Ernie and Caleb had field day at school.  Parents were invited to go and have a picnic with them for lunch that day.

 I grabbed the food and Big E brought the blanket, and we were all set....

well, minus Little E's sunglasses.  We improvised.  

As a side note, I think the grass at the boys' school is some of the best grass ever.  Don't you agree? 

The Boren Fam

A few months ago (I checked the date a few times to makes sure it really was that long ago) our long time friends, The Borens, from Boise came and stayed with us for the weekend.  We had a BLAST! We love their kiddos and it was so much fun to stay up until all hours of the night talking.  

We went to the Secret Garden at the Mirage one afternoon. 

 Austin, caleb, Ernie, and Cambria

Caleb and Austin

These two were so cute.  Austin wanted to hold Caleb's hand and be right next to him the whole weekend they were here. 

I thought I did a better job at getting some pictures, but obviously not.  Still, we have a few memories :) 

 We LOVE that we have room for friends and family to come visit.  So, here is your invitation.  Anytime, just let us know when!

The Perfect Surprise

Tomorrow I am going in to get my tonsils removed.  I know, sounds like a blast right? My ENT asked that I take a week off.  A full 7-10 days of rest to recover properly.  He must know me well enough to request that I get work off and pretty much stay in bed.  

What am I the most nervous about the night before my surgery?  

Boredom. 

 I am absolutely not complaining, because I really do have a very fortunate life.  However, just so you get an understanding of why in the world that was my biggest concern.......

 I am not the kind of person that like to sit around.  I like to be on the move.  I am wondering what in the world I am supposed to do with myself for that long.  My mom and dad are taking the kids for the weekend, and then they are in school.  You can only read so many books and watch so many movies before you loose it.  I can't eat anything.  And I had no lap top to even try to catch up on my blog or take care of the bills. 

And then my husband left a surprise for me tonight on my bed. 

It is what you think it is.  

I know, I know.  I say it all the time.  But how amazing is he?  I really have the most amazing and thoughtful husband ever.  I am very blessed.   

And thrilled that I now have a world of endless possibilities as I sit in bed unable to talk for the first little while and sipping vitamin water. 

Although, I also now have ZERO excuse for not being caught up with blogging, bills, and emails. 

Unless I pull the whole, "the pain pills made me sleep" excuse.  Hmmm, then again I might be so excited with my new toy that I may not have to reach for that one.