Things I have realized that really should have been obvious

-Eh. I need my haircut.


-Taking funny face pictures with friends was fun in high school; it's still fun to do with your kids.
-Every child is different. It doesn't matter that I read this 500 million times or that 500 people told me. I have tried every which way to fit Tate into Eli's mold--because that is what I know. He does not. In many ways, this is wonderful. He is his own adorable little sweet person who has smiled in 6 months 90% more than Eli has in almost 4 years. But he does not sleep through the night. He does not take consistent naps. And I have tried everything including moving him, drugging him, letting him cry, rocking him, etc. They are different...unbelievably enough.
-"Slimming" tank tops only work if you are already slim; you never see a fat girl modeling a tank top that is supposed to make you skinny because it doesn't, much to my dismay.
-Making plans for the next day when you are awake in the middle of the night with a crying baby is a bad idea. The middle of the night is the worst time to be making sound plans. Or speaking for that matter. Mean things can be said to people who deserve no such thing.
-Most of the money we will make one day will go to tithing, taxes and loan payments before we even see a dime of it. So I am trying to temper my excitement for Adam to graduate with a measure of discipline and realism.


-Brothers are mean to each other. They don't mean to be mean. They just kind of are.
-Growing your own food, er, having your husband grow your own food is totally satisfying. These are from our humble little garden, pretty huh?
-Fat babies are just absolutely and completely endearing. I don't know if there is just a shortage of babies in general here, but absolute strangers seriously think it is ok to come up and not just remark on, but pinch and squeeze Tate's fat rolls...and I sort of can't blame them.

Princess Leila

Isn't she adorable? I can't wait to meet my newest little niece. Personally, I don't think she looks much like a princess; I think she is going to be a sassy, tough little chica who likes to play in the dirt with her boy cousins. But that's just me. Leila, I am so glad you are finally here and I forgive you for waiting so long because now I get to come hang out without my boys next week. Wahoo!

Facebook doesn't suck THAT bad and Fall exists outside of California

I still have two profiles on Facebook. But at least now I can log onto one of them. Still not sure about the whole thing.

We just got back from a ten day excursion to Utah and New Hampshire. Hallelujah for the season of Fall. We got to go dirt-biking and boating in Utah,





walk the "Freedom Trail" in Boston, eat at the impressively delectable "Quincy Market" therein and generally take in the beauty that exists in New England. It was wonderful and a completely positive experience; Tate was so so good. And Eli was partying it up with Nannie and Grandma while we were checking stuff out back East. We also spent time with Marcus before saying goodbye for two years. Between the two or us, Adam and I now have three brothers on Latin-American missions. Pretty sweet.

Anyway, so now I am home. It is a hellish 110 degrees today. Uh. I want to go back to a land where Fall, and Winter, for that matter, exists. I felt like a FedEx coordinator-going back and forth between two houses while we were in Utah, then sending part of my stuff one place, my kids' stuff to other places and then collecting it all again, bringing it home and sorting through it. And now I have to put it all away today. Bother. Oh, and I should probably work since I blew that off for an entire week. I am also especially crabby because my (no doubt adorable) niece Leila failed to make an on time appearance. She was supposed (according to my well laid out plan) to be born the day before I got to Utah so that we could get to know each other for a few days before I had to leave. But noooo... And then she was supposed to debut while I was in New Hampsire and I would stay for a few days extra to hang out. Also, a no go. In fact, she is still not here. She should be here by tomorrow, as her mother is currently attempting to forcefully vacate her through induction... that sounds harsher than I meant, but you know what I mean. So anyway. I am not very happy with her but nonetheless still dying to meet her. I am going back to Utah next weekend to hang out which will actually be more fun since Adam will keep my boys--wahoo, my husband is such a rock star. Good luck to you Chels; I doubt there is anything in the world as wonderful as having a baby, especially your first. My thoughts are with you today, tonight and tomorrow (hopefully not longer than that!!!) Chel.

Facebook sucks

I knew it. I gave in. I tried. I received like 55 friend request emails, two "Welcome" emails from Facebook itself, and I allowed myself to get all excited to see what the big deal was but OH, wait--I cant login. Facebook doesn't recognize my email address as linked to my profile and their super unhelpful customer service sent me directly back to the "Help" page which was also nothing but a hugely unhelpful timesuck. So basically my profile exists on Facebook but I cannot do anything with it because I cannot log in. I have managed to waste all kinds of time on Facebook, trying to figure out how to solve this problem, without even Facebooking!!

So anyway. My long awaited arrival to the Facebook was a hoax, even to me. I apparently won't be socializing there.

We are heading to Utah tomorrow and I am finding myself sort of freaking out that Eli is going to miss a whole week of school. I know, it's preschool. But it just kind of reinforces that nagging feeling that I have had ever since Tate was born..."Ok, I am a real mom now. Whoa."

Here are some pictures of his first day that I forgot to post. He loves it. And when I picked him up yesterday, his teacher enthusiastically greeted me with the encouraging words, "Oh, he just keeps getting better every day! He didn't bite any friends today and he brought his listening ears." Music, I tell you; you will never understand how happy this makes me until you have an Eli. Needless to say, he had a bit of a rough start but I think preschool is definitely starting to serve its many purposes.

The summer in review

Just posted my whole summer. Or the things I can remember anyway, which isn't very reliable because I'm going on nearly six months of sleep deprivation...yeah, my tank child still wakes up at night. Don't get me started. Here are some other bullet points and pictures worth mentioning:


-Two kids is no joke. But I am starting to understand why people have multiple children: Tate and Eli are beginning to be best little wrestling buddies. And now that I am mostly over my anxiety of Eli hurting Tate, I enjoy watching them play so much.

-Tate is not very small. He wears all of Eli's 18 month clothing. The kid weighs 22 pounds. We call him Fluffer Nutter after my Aunt Stephanie's peanut butter and marshmallow cream sandwiches. Appropriate, no? So I think he is ready to fend for himself.


-My family, with the exception of pregnant Chel and Britten, came out for one final hurrah before Alex left. We had so much fun-swimming, beach, eating, pool, Angel's game, etc.

I bawled when they left. And I have been a disaster ever since since it JUST NOW occurred to me that I have to send my boys away someday. He left for Brazil last Wed and all of us were pretty much blindsided by how hard it was to say goodbye. But, upon receiving his first email yesterday, I can already feel the blessings that pour when a family has a missionary out.


-Eli started preschool. He loves it. And I have time to work and generally collect myself three days a week. What a little punk.


-Things are good. I can't brag too much about how awesome Adam is doing in school...but he is. He'll technically be done with graduation requirements in about a month. And he is no longer stressed about patients or procedures-- ESPECIALLY since football started last Saturday! Hooray, finally. We look forward to sitting on our couch, eating food like rednecks and literally watching football ALL DAY long. Let the games begin.

Heber Creeper and THE CHUM!!!

Eli's favorite thing:
TRAINS. Fortunately, he has a dad and Grandma who were willing to indulge him with a ride on the Heber Creeper. None of the rest of us felt....up to it.



My favorite thing:
PAWN STARS


Your eyes are not deceiving you--that is CHUMLEE! We seriously stopped at the Pawn Shop on the way home. It was sick.

THE RANCH

This is the best place in the world. And even though it was unspeakably harder with two kids this year, we still had a wonderful time. Not very many pictures, fewer intense outdoor activities, but just as much top quality time with all of my favorite people.