little boy vs. river

Flash back to...oh let's say 1986 or so. The time of parachute pants, Pound Puppdies, G.I. Joes, Jenga, and Jaws. Trace would be about 3 years old. Him and his family went on a little trip to Shevelon Crossing in Northern Arizona. Shevelon Crossing has a creek that sometimes runs down the canyon. As they were hiking along the river bed Trace slipped into the river. Heather, being the most mature (cause I've met her brothers a time or two), jumped in after him and pulled him out. As Trace was drying off on the side of the creek, he said, "If dere were a shawrk in dere, I'd be dead."

I tell this story to tell another story. Last weekend we went on a little family trip up American Fork Canyon. We got out to take some pictures. This is what I got...

Trace and Brody on a rock in the river.

All by himself...close call. (should have been a parental clue or something.)

Oh so big...all by himself. By the way, I just need to mention that putting Brody out on the little rock in the river all by himself was NOT my idea.

Then right after that picture he lost his balance and before I knew it, he was in the river.

"If dere were a shawrk in dere, I'd be dead!"

long awaited...

Not being able to blog is like having this constant nag....alright "nagging" is a little rough of a term, but it's like having this TO-DO in the back of my mind that I just can't cross off. For so long I was a proficient blog-updater. Then student teaching took over and the only reason I wanted to get on the computer was to construct my lesson plans and then be done. I did not want or need one more ounce of internet/computer usage in my life. My blog definately got put on the back burner.
True- there are many instances that happened and I thought- that would be awesome to put on the blog. Now, those stories are forever lost to the public because I did not blog them. Sad, sad.
Anyway, life without a blog does go on.

BUT: Here I am in Pittsburgh, PA and I don't have internet yet. The only connection to the outside world (besides my phone) is coming down the the clubhouse, wrestling a two year old, and trying to email, blog, facebook, and connect to the outside once again. Needless to say- I don't make it down to the clubhouse very often. However, we are getting the internet soon. I look forward to it.

As far as PITT. Things are going well. I really enjoy being a "stay at home" mom thus far. Here are a few funny/interesting things that have happened:

1. On the third night here Brody kept saying, "I wanna go back to Utah." When we asked him why he said, "Cuz there is a TV there." :)
2. We went to Chucky Cheese the first day we were here to celebrate some birthdays...now I will never go a day without hearing, "Mommy, let's go to Chucky Cheeses."
3. Within the first 30 minutes we were here Brody managed to jump off a bed and bite through his entire bottom lip. Then the next day slammed his thumb in a door and took a big chunk of flesh off. Then the next day at the park fell off a table and scabbed his forehead...again. He kind of looked like I dragged him behind the car on the way to Pittsburgh. (I didn't.) I am constantly telling him to "be careful" but he doesn't seem to understand that concept yet.
4. His aunt Lonna let him borrow a superman cape. When he puts in on he looks like Nacho Libre...and I'm totally inclined to start speaking with a Mexican accent.
5. I graduated.
6. I thought my days would consist of reading books, lounging by the pool, and playing with Brody. (I didn't even pack a real jacket). However, I should have checked the weather channel before coming and realized that it is quite chilly here still and the pool isn't even open. My days still consist of reading...just not by the pool.
7. I am also starting to realize that I may have ADD or ADHD because I find it hard to sit still and am constantly trying to think of fun, inexpensive things to do.

That's about all I got so far. Hopefully the cable dude comes today and hooks my life back up.

goofy golf

We took Brody to Kangaroo Zoo. He tried to ride the tiger.

I have blonde hair now. It's interesting....different....way different.

Last week of student teaching = next week.
Graduation = April 30th
Moving to Pitt = May 1st

Lots of changes happening around here.

* Forgot to mention baby girl = June 18th (induce date)

a trip to the park (in pictures)

* see footnote...




* what's wrong with this picture? little boy in splits and grandparents smiling and having a grand ol' time. :) hilarious.

Arizona easter

Nanna and Gampa did a little early easter "surprise" for Brody. He loved it...and so did they.

We did an easter egg hunt.

Tried to open eggs.


and then checked out all the loot.


"tank you Nanna n Gampa. I wove you wots!"- Brody

Sun bound...

We took a road trip down here....

to visit family AND go to this event...

It was amazing...

Trace got some good pictures of the cheerleaders and I got some pictures of the players. (pictures of cheerleaders were deleted.)


We had a grand time watching them eliminate the Jazz.

boy + park = fun

Two days ago there was a snow storm from the Artic.
Today...sunshine and good weather.
A good day to burn some energy at the park.
We slid.We climbed.We hide-and-seeked.And drug me around the entire park.Oh...and we also posed for the camera one or two times.

paper bag

So I just got home from the mall.
I happened to walk into GAP kids and realized that I should probably take a paper bag in with me next time because:
1. EVERYTHING is so cute.
and
2. I want to purchase every little girl manikan outfit.
AND
3. GAP is VERY proud of their cute clothes.

True- I have been in there many times before and the little boy clothes are very darling as well- BUT the girl clothes....the details, the colors, the trim, the cuts, the lace, the frills, the ribbons...OH MY!!
I also came to the realization that having a girl means a little more up keep than my little Brody boy. Which today- I might add- he dressed himself in green swimsuit trunks, a T-shirt with a tank top over it, and some cowboy boots. Lookin good bud.
I, however, have yet to buy ANY girl anything...because:
1. I don't know where to start.
and
2. Everything is so cute I can't make a decision.

I am VERY excited to have a girl but am a little nervous about the differences between Brodster and a little girl. I am starting to get the hang of boy stuff- and now my mind has to switch to girl. Does it just come natural? I hope so....otherwise...bring on the *paper bags!!

*Paper bags...you know...what people in the movies do when they are hyperventalating because of shock or anxiety.

mu-mu's

Oh of my dad's school kid's families went to Hawaii and brought us girls back these lovelies...

Not only do you feel very sexy...you are really comfortable as well. I love mine. And yes, I can hula like no other mother.

think about it...

Ok, so I have been thinking. Seriously thinking. And this is what I came up with...

Things that I have a love/hate relationship with:

1. Automatic flushing toilets: I love them because I no longer have to try to use my foot to push the flusher down. I hate them because sometimes they flush too soon....sometimes you just gotta re-adjust...right?
2. Auto lock doors on my car: I love them because after pushing the button and no one opens the door, it relocks. A nice anti-theft device, right? I hate them because...say for instance...I'm inside and I need to run outside to the car to get my bag, my ipod, my phone, my backpack, etc. I have to hurry and push unlock 15 (or so) times- just to make sure it is unlocked- and then hurry and race out to the car before the car relocks itself. (Maybe I should just take the keys with me, just incase it relocks...but what's the fun in that?)
3. Cadbury mini eggs: I love them because, lets face it, they are the reason why I look forward to Spring/Easter season. Seriously. The thick candy shell and the delicious chocolate. WOW. I hate them because in 1 serving, which is 7 (a small handful) there are approx 120 calories and 8 grams of fat. Multiply that by 15 (how many servings in a bag...because you all know I will pretty much eat the whole bag)...and I begin to realize that all the weight I've gained thus far may NOT just be "water weight".
4. Daylight Savings time: I love it because that just means one more hour of daylight at the end of the day. I hate it because the alarm says it is 5:30 am...but my mind tells me it is 4:30 am. And that extra hour of sleep is very critical in my life.
5. Clean sheets: Honestly, who doesn't love clean sheets...the smell, the feel, the thought. However, trying to put the fitted sheet on by myself sometimes feels like I'm wrestling two greased down pigs. (Think I haven't done it? Think again.)
6. Bedtime for Brody: I love it because I get to spend so much time with him and then get the reward of some quiet time. However, that kids has to have books upon books read to him, then a made-up story- which usually involves a big bad wolf, a snake, a pig, a turtle, a fish, a pirate, and a balloon...I use my imagination to make them all tie in together somehow, then at least 2 songs sang. By the time I'm done...I am usually ready for bed too.

I have also been thinking lately about bows and ribbons and pink and purple and patterns for little girly blankets. We are having a GIRL. I have also been trying to imagine what a little girl of ours might look like. I look at Brody and try to picture a girl...and it doesn't seem possible. None-the-less, we are having a girl and I'm excited.

I have also been thinking about this funny story. This is, for reals, the funniest story of the week- BY FAR.

So there we were. It was a typical busy Saturday at Costco. Why do we go to Costco on Saturdays is beyond me....yet, we do it every Saturday. Anyway, so we were walking down the isles...picking up a few things here and there. Brody was slightly grumpy so Trace was doing the dad thing and doing silly *things to cheer him up.
*Things such as tripping on purpose, pretending the cart was a race car, making silly faces, AND Brody's favorite: pretending to slam the big, glass refridgeration doors into his face and then stumbling backwards like it hurt really bad.
So I went ahead of them to pick up some tortillas. I told Trace to get some eggs. A few minutes later Trace comes walking up with a HUGE red mark on his face.
This is how the story goes: As he went to open up the glass door that the eggs were behind, he, for some reason, thought the hinges were on the other side and grabbed the door as hard as he could and yanked back on it. The door came flying open...only to collide with his face! It hit him so hard that it knocked his glasses off and left a smudge print (of his face) on the glass. Two girls walking past were lucky enough to witness it all AND laugh at him. I only got to see the after effects...the bump & red mark on his face and the smudgemark on the glass. I, however, still got a really good laugh out of it.