Thursday, September 9, 2010

Daddy's Week

So while Jenn was away for a week, I had the boys. I tried to do some fun things with them and make the most of my week off. I think we had a pretty good time and it was good to spend a lot of time with the boys. I learned first hand what my sweetheart has to deal with everyday and I appreciate her effort in raising our boys so much!

To get the week started, I took them to the waterpark near our house. It's perfect for little kids and they had a lot of fun. The weather was perfect! Jenn was a little jealous of our weather because she was the one who wanted to sit by the pool all week. It was quite a bit warmer here than it was in Oregon (mostly 90's all week). Here are the boys eating their lunch:


Tyce thought he was tough stuff riding this turtle:


The twins had a ball doing everything they could there. Tyce was good too. He found one slide he liked and went on it over and over. He was pretty brave considering it went pretty fast for someone his size and it was all I could do to hang on to his arm as he flew down into the water. I had to get all the boys up on the turtle for a shot:


The next day I went in to work and dropped the boys off with some friends who were amazing to watch our kids for the day. They had a lot of fun and were exhausted when I picked them up. I made a calendar with everything that we wanted to do for the week. It helped the boys get excited about the week and countdown the days till Mommy comes home.

So the next thing we had slated was as trip to the zoo. It was the hottest day of the week and very humid. We were there about 10 minutes and everyone was tired, hungry, hot and needed to go potty. I thought it was going to be a miserable day, but luckily I was smart enought to pack a full cooler that gave us plenty of food, drinks, and ice for the day. When we finally got started, everyone adjusted to the conditions, and we started to take a look around.



They loved chasing pigeons...


...and acting like lions.


It was nice to find a hidden away prairie dog playland in the shade.



The cows were their favorite animals, I guess it's in their blood.


I found another shaded play area that they loved, a big pizza.


Here's Tyce crawling through an olive.


More random fun at the National Zoo.





Of course, that much heat and traipsing around can lead to a melt down or two.


A nice thing we found at the zoo were the mist sprayers. A much needed amenity for the heat.


I had to take a break the day after going to the zoo and we just stayed home. The next day, I was getting cabin fever already and was excited to get out and go to Lake Anna State Park, just an hour South of us. Jenn has blogged about that place before.





Jack said he was a prince in his sand castle. I think he makes a handsome prince ;)





The next to last day of Jenn's absence was Saturday. The BYU football game was on and we went to a friend's house to watch the game. The boys did their best to cheer on the Cougars!



We also found time to go to a park that day where the boys acted like monkeys. We had a bit of a problem when we couldn't find a potty at the last moment, but luckily I had baby wipes and I helped Jackson make his first bear trap in the woods nearby.


The boys and I were excited to have Jenn come home. The boys helped me make a little welcome sign for her. Too bad she came home after midnight because they wanted to hold it up for her at the airport.


I love Jenn so much and I feel like it was a good experience to be at home for a week and see what it's like to have to clean, do laundry, make dinners, discipline, etc. I missed her terribly and even though we had lots of fun, it is a lot better having her home.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Labor Day...

Parker had Monday off for the holiday and, even though we were exhausted from only three hours sleep the night before, we had a fun day as a family. We had a picnic, then rode the carousel, then played at the park. Everyone was in such a good mood and I think we were just all happy to be together again.

Cute guys ready to go... Jack and daddy...
Tyce loved the whole picnic idea...Mommy and Josh (who would NOT leave my lap the entire lunch because he thought bees were going to get him)...They loved the carousel...It was a very hot day but we all still had fun...

After the park we went to 711 and got slurpees, which is always a hit with my boys. After dinner we put the kids down and Parker and I enjoyed watching some football together on the couch. I love my family!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Girly Girl Retreat!

I'm home from my girl's retreat! We had SUCH a great time but it's good to be back. I flew in Sunday evening and we went to Salem and my mom made me a DELICIOUS halibut dinner for my birthday and then we packed up and drove to Eagle Crest! We spent Monday and Tuesday shopping in Bend because the weather wasn't very nice to be at the pool. I spent all my birthday money but got SO many cute clothes and shoes! My mom had some coupons and I saved about $180 in coupons and sales tax! I'm really excited.

Monday morning two of my best friends from high school happened to be in town so we all met for breakfast at The Original Pancake House! It was yummy food but even better company. I had SO much fun chatting with Lindsay and Jo and it was just like old times! My mom left Linds and I a box of See's Chocolates on our pillows at Eagle Crest, needless to say that after 11 weeks of our diet we were EXCITED!!!
Linds and my mom shoe shopping...Wednesday we laid out by the pool and relaxed and then met my dad for a yummy dinner...My cute mom...Thursday morning we went on a hike and then spent the day at the pool because the weather was finally SO warm! It was so wonderful just laying out and relaxing with my mom and my sister! We had lots of good laughs and really enjoyed our time together.
Friday we drove out to Utah for the BYU football game. We stopped in Boise and saw my grandpa, who is 90 and doing great! Here's him and my dad...Linds and I look awful but, look at my grandpa, hahaha...He cracks me up...Here we are at the BYU game...It was a great game and my cougars came out on top!All us girls at the end of the trip...Sunday I flew home and, even though we didn't get to bed until 4am and we're exhausted, I'm SO happy to be back! Parker had the house clean and the sheets washed which was so nice. Sounds like they had a great week and Parker will blog about it soon. I got the boys a surprise in Utah so they woke me up begging to see it. Here they are closing their eyes waiting for their surprise...I got them Toy Story and Mickey Mouse figurines. They were really excited...Tyce was so cute this morning when I went in to get him from his crib...

Thank you mom for a fantastic week and thank you Parker for taking care of our boys. Life is good!!!