3 Men & A Little Lady: August 2010

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Let the Countdown Begin.....

Kenny & I in Oahu '07

In exactly one month from today, I will be boarding an airplane in LA, with my husband, and only my husband, and flying across the pacific ocean to MAUI!!!!! There we will be meeting my wonderful sister Carmin & her fun husband Matt. We will then spend a week together playing and soaking up the sun. NO kids, NO whining, NO wiping bottoms, NO cutting up food, NO screaming, and NO chauffeuring. Its going to be Unbelievable! We are going on our trip the last week while still in my 20's, so it is a birthday present to me from Carmin and Kenny. Carmin hooked us up with an amazing place to stay for the week, and Kenny will be taking care ($) of all the fun things Carmin & I are planning to do.

On our to-do list: Zipline, Luau, Sunrise Bike Ride Down a Volcano, Sailing, Snorkeling, Hiking to Waterfalls, Road to Hanna, Powered Hang Gliding, Eating Macademia Nut Pancakes, More Eating, Shopping, Laying on the Beach, Body Boarding, and Sleeping In!

We will be doing some pretty physical stuff, but I want to do these things while I am still in my 20's, young and mobile!

This is where we will be staying, thanks to my sister! She has a client who gave her their time share for a week. http://westinkaanapali.com/ We each have our own rooms!

If anyone has been to Maui before and has ideas of other things we should do or places to see please let me know.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Let the school year begin!

Its hard to believe that I have two kids in school this year! Drew entered 2nd grade and Ian Kindergarten. Unfortunately kindergarten is only half day here, but I'll take what I can get! Ian was sooo excited to go today. He picked out his clothes the night before and came into my room at 6:40am dressed and ready to go.

Ian (5) & Drew (6)

Owen was pouting all morning and devastated that he too was not going to school. We tried to make it better by letting him wear a new shirt, put snacks in a backpack, and pose for a picture. Ian was NOT happy that Owen was in the 1st day of school pic.

When we dropped off Ian at his classroom he went right in and started playing with play dough. He looked at me and waved, gave me a thumbs up, and blew me a kiss! The tears started, I blew him a kiss back, and walked away with Owen whining about how he wanted to play with "taydough".

So that is exactly what we did. We made our own grape play dough and he played with it for hours. I spent my first morning, minus 2 kids, on the phone with my mom and sister. What a perfect morning!

Reports of the first day:

Ian said, "School is Awesome! I want more snacks tomorrow. And did you know they have books that read the words to you and when it beeps you turn the page?"

Drew said, "I like my school and my teacher is nice."

I'm looking forward to watching my boys grow and learn this school year. Owen starts joy school next week!

Horror!

So I hate taking all 4 of my children to Walmart and I try to avoid it at all cost. However, every once in awhile I am stuck and have to venture into that store with all my kiddos. I always get looks from strangers and even comments like, "Why, you have your hands FULL!" Drew had a party to go to, with thirty minutes to spare, so I decided we would all run in, go to the toy section, grab something, and get out of there. I thought to myself, "Piece of cake!" As we were running to the toy section, in the very back, Owen announces, "MOOOOOM I have to Pee!" I look at him and he isn't holding "the boys" yet and isn't dancing around, so I tell him to hold it and that we are almost done. We check out in super speed and I'm thinking to myself, "I've even got some extra time to spare." I have by this point completely forgotten about the fact Owen asked to go to the bathroom fifteen minutes ago and decide to check out the dvd in the Red box. As I am quickly making my date night movie choice and paying for it, I realize Owen is NO where to be seen. My heart starts racing and I start calling his name loudly! I'm looking all over the opening of the Walmart by this point, behind soda machines, the toy rides, and he is no where to be found. I've caused a scene by this point and as the door slides open to the entrance of Walmart, a man just standing there looks at me and points down to a little blond hair boy, with his pants down around his ankles, who is peeing into the street, greeting everyone as they walk into Walmart, and says "Is he yours?" I am horrified, grateful, and relieved all at the same time. Owen looks up at me with a smile and says, "I pee peed mommy!" I hug him and tell him he scared me and to never leave my side again. My next immediate thought is, "Yes we are the white trash at Walmart!"

All in one Day!

Mya discovered the fun of mud, sand, friends, and the little Tykes car all in one afternoon. She had a great summer exploring the world around her!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Colorado Getaway!

Every summer we travel to Colorado to getaway from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. We always have a great time with family and friends. On this vacation, we also traveled over to Utah to hike and visit more family. After a long drive the boys are always ready to burn lots of energy & that is exactly what they did!

Drew is a natural born hiker and would LOVE to live in Colorado so he could go hiking everyday! He is like the energizer bunny and keeps going, and going, and going! He gets mad if the hikes are too short. Here he is scaling a rock in Moab, UT.

The one and only....Famous Aunties! I can't say enough about how blessed I am to be married into such an amazing family. I have so much love, respect, and appreciation for Kenny's sisters. They love my boys so much and are always willing to play Octopus, read books, have slumber party's, hike, and play. My children adore them! We were sad however not to see Cat, Gabi, and the Waters family. Next time :)

Owen is not quite the hiker that Drew & Ian were at his age. This is how he preferred to hike, letting the Aunties do all the work!

Our next stop was Monticello, UT. Kelly Summers, aka Grandpa Summers, grew up in Monticello in an old historic hotel. The boys loved being able to run around the big house and to pick out any room they wanted to sleep in. I loved being able to hear all the fascinating stories about Kelly and his four sisters growing up there. I would love to pick this house up and move it to CA! This home has so much character and charm.

We had fun playing tag in the front yard & Owen had fun shooting all of us!

Kelly's father was a cowboy and they still have land where they herd cattle. The boys enjoyed the hay bales and Mya had fun driving grandmas car! She is naked due to a diaper leak!

Our next stop, for the boys was to camp and hike around Ragged Mountain. I decided this should be a boys only trip, so I spent time with the girls watching the first season of Glee!

Ian loved catching a fish and eating one bite!

Our last hike before leaving beautiful CO was in Grand Junction. Mya got to ride around on daddy's back, thanks to the Grover's letting us borrow their backpack. We don't know how we have gone through 4 kids without getting one of these. Kenny even put her in it to make cookies!

Look how tall Ian is and how long their hair is!

And of course our trip to CO would not be complete without mentioning how wonderfully we ate while there, thanks to Grandma of course!

Not only did we have a great time with family, but we also got to go swimming, to the movies, batting cages, and out to dinner with our friends the Cases, Thergesons, and Alles.

Unfortunately our vacation had to end. Kenny is back to the Vet clinic & I am off getting the boys ready for school that starts Monday. I need another vacation! More details on that trip to come!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

One tough Cookie

Ian loves having his friend, Lucy over to play. She has two older brothers, so she is TOUGH! She loves playing Super Heros and can really hold her own! She is adorable and so sweet with Mya. Watching her makes me think that this is how Mya is going to be when she is older.

So Lucy gave Ian a bloody nose & made him cry! Kenny couldn't believe that I even encouraged this behavior. So I talked with Ian and told him, "We never Ever hit girls, even if they can beat you up!"

After Ian got beat up they went out to play on the slip n' slide. Lucy would NOT wear a shirt even with all my talk about modesty. She just kept saying, "No the boys aren't wearing theirs." I finally gave in!

I love the friendship that Ian has with Lucy! I only wonder if it will turn into more later on :)

How She Rolls!!!

I think Mya is destined to be a TOM BOY!!! How can she not be with 3 older brothers to follow around. Her new favorite "ride" is the Monster Dump Truck!

She is always a little more leery when Owen is doing the driving!

They say the cutest things.....

Mya, my little girl, said in her prayers last night, "Please help us to be strong and healthy like the Hulk!"

Owen almost ran straight into a woman as we entered a dark parking garage. As I told him to watch out, he quickly yelled, "Well she's all black!" Coincidentally she was African American! She was wearing a black dress, which is what he was referring too!

Owen told me today, "You are the best mom I ever had! I love you all the way up to Jesus!" He also loves kissing and told Kenny, "I just want to stay home from school and kiss mom all day!"

Drew lost a tooth at school when he bit into his apple. He felt the tooth inside his mouth as he was chewing and when I asked him about it, he said, "I didn't realize it was mine and I wondered if it was one of the workers!"

While at church, a teacher asked the kids what happened to Jesus right after he was baptized and brought up from the water. Ian enthusiastically raised his hand and said, "He asked for a towel!"

After a long struggle with my boys, to get them inside, bathed, and into bed, I yelled, "I am done, go to sleep!" Owen looked up at me and said, "Mommy I'm sorry you're sad, but the problem is that you don't beat up Drew and Ian. Just beat them up and I will be on your team!"

We are not a family who eats beans, so when Drew went to a friends house to play and eat dinner, he was hesitant to eat the burrito that had refried beans in it. When I picked him up he said to me, "Mom she put mud inside the burrito!"

Aunt Connie pleaded with Owen to shoot his daddy with the gun instead of her and his response, "No, he's the best daddy i've ever had!"

I begged the boys to quit fighting and Drew looked at me and said, "Its not Mothers Day anymore mom!"

Owen got kicked in his "man hood" and said, "Oh, I hurt my Tenders!"

Drew asked this morning, "Mom in 2011 can we get a cat?"

Everytime I feed Mya prunes, Owen comes up to me and says, "Me like chocolate mom!" I give him a bite and his face turns to total disgust.

Owen ran up to me after wrestling the dogs and said, "Me see Cassie's boobies!"

While I was nursing Mya, Drew walked in and said, "Is she done drinking from your boob?" I replied, "No and it is called a breast, thats the proper way to say it." He looked at me puzzled and said, "No thats the Spanish word for it."

Kenny opened the fridge and said, "Something in here stinks." Ian looked at him and said, "Dad, sometimes I toot over there!"

Last night as the boys were saying good night to Mya, Drew looked up at me and said, "Mom, Mya has a boy haircut!"

Drew was reminding me about how when we saw macaws in Hawaii, that one of the macaws was chewing on a woman's hair. He said, about the macaw, "Thats not very nice, it's not choosing the right."

My favorite word Drew and Ian used to say when they were toddlers was, Laddie- for water. I thought it was such a cute word. Owen comes to the fridge and points his little finger and says, "Wa-Wa" for water. So cute!

Last night Kenny went in on a call to deliver a goat and Ian came into our bed. He climbed in and snuggled up beside me, he usually snuggles into Kenny. I asked him why he was snuggling with me and he said, "I can snuggle you because daddy isn't here mom!" He is such a daddy's boy.

Ian is such a daddy's boy. The other night Kenny had to go to the clinic and Ian was sobbing for him for a good twenty minutes because he wanted to go too. When I asked him why he was so upset he replied, "I just want my daddy, he is my favorite boy!"

Birthday parties celebrated in California are usually BIG! There is always a huge jumper, pinata, food for the whole family, and tons of presents. Well we went to a party last night and the boys spent 2 hrs. jumping in a big jumper. On our way home we saw another party going on that had an even bigger jumper with a slide attached. Ian asked, "Can we go to that party too?" I replied, "We don't even know who those people are. " His response, "Well lets just go ask them their names."

As we prepared to go to the Glenwood Springs pool in Colorado with Kenny's four sisters Drew impatiently said, "Come on girls, you're taking too long!" Kenny told him, "Get used to it, this is what men do, wait for girls to get ready."

Much to my dismay I found black ink all over our white sheets on our bed. I of course went straight to Ian and asked very sternly, "Did you write on my sheets with a pen?" With an innocent look he replied, "I was just trying to write my name."

Drew was watching me as I divided my hair into sections with clips to straighten it. He looked up at me and said, "Wow, you look beautiful!" Then when I was completely done with my hair he said, "You're a cute little mommy!"

Ian was dipping his finger in Kenny's contact solution and then touching his eye. I asked him what he was doing and he replied, "Just putting my eyes in mom!"