Free movie, Free waterpark ~ WooHoo!

We took our kids to the free movie of the week, Horton Hears a Who (which was awesome), and then to the free sprinkler park in Auburn. We had such a good time! The water from the sprinklers was really COLD ~ but it felt good because it was in the upper 90's today. Ryan blew bubbles for the kids and they loved it. This summer is probably as difficult as my summers will get ~ having four kids, three in diapers. And I feel so blessed that Ryan is home and willing to help. Otherwise, we'd probably spend our hot days at home.

VAN Troubles ~ luckily not ours (sort of)

We've had a bit of an ordeal today. I didn't know this, but each ward has a transient bishop ~ someone who helps people passing through. Since we live right by the airport, we have a lot of passers through. A few weeks ago we were asked if we could go to the airport and pick up these people's van that they left parked there. We agreed and were in contact with the owners. They were going to send us the key and then pay the parking lot fees over the phone ~ not a big deal. We finally got the key and went to pick up the van. It was 103 degrees today. When we finally figured out where the van was, Ryan went to open it, and the key would not open the van. The owner was not surprised and gave him permission to break a window to get in. He declined and told her to call a locksmith. We took the kids to get an icecream cone (my third in three days) while the locksmith could come and open the van. When we got back to the airport, we waited forty minutes until the locksmith came, and then waited while he did a long times worth of paperwork ~ ANNOYING! It only took him three minutes to get it open and he charged them $120 to do it (maybe a good field to go into). So now we could get the show on the road ~ only the van wouldn't start. So we asked three people for a jump and finally the third agreed. Once we got the van started, smoke started pouring out of it! The smoke subsided as my hubby drove the van out of the parking lot ~ after these people put over $1000 on a credit card to get it all paid up. So now we have a large green van, that's falling apart, literally, in our driveway ~ like we didn't have enough ugly cars in our driveway. It was supposed to be stored at the church or the transient bishop's home, but it looks like we're looking for an alternative place to store it. I'm kind of annoyed at the whole situation. It's a good thing my husband has the willingness to serve that he does.

Dehydrated???

Maybe it's just dehydration (because it's 102 degrees outside), but after my run this morning I weighed 124, which puts me just 2 lbs away from my goal. I'll take it however I can get it!

Hot, Hot Days of Summer

It's been super warm here ~ actually hot. I'm not complaining at all, though. I love it. The thing I hate is when we go the entire summer without many days above 90. This actually feels like summer and I'm totally loving it!

Night at the Concert in the Park

These pictures are not of what I'm writing about, but I like them, so I'm putting them on. (We took them yesterday at Madison Park ~ right after I took it, Ollie fell about 5ft and got a bloody nose , then Parker followed his lead and did not suffer any bodily injuries. And doesn't Halea look pretty?).

We went to a summer concert in the park this afternoon. It was so great! It was at least 90 degrees outside, and we walked about a mile and a half, but it was so well worth it. Parker walked there and back ~ he'll sleep well tonight. I enjoyed sitting on a blanket with my sweetheart while the kids danced to the music and played on the park toys. I loved hearing the music, smelling the grass, watching my sweet children play, and feeling a sense of peace that we're doing what Heavenly Father wants us to do with our lives.

Bryce's egg drop

It's been a busy few days. Bryce had cubscout daycamp last week. It was great! And it gave me back some of the structure that seems to lack in my life when school is not in. The egg drop is a tradition for daycamp. The boys have to package an egg inside a container and the purpose is to keep the egg intact when a firefighter throws it off the top of his ladder. As you can see Bryce's didn't make it this year. He had a good attitude about it, though. He was pretty squirrely about having his picture taken with me. Jerk. The firefighters hosed the boys down after they were done with the egg drop. It was a good time.

Microderm Disappointment

I had a $100 gift certificate to the Euro Institute from Christmas last year, so I decided to use it today. They had a cancellation, so I was able to get in this morning. I had a microdermabrasion treatment. It was my first. Probably my last. I was expecting it to burn off all my skin and to look like scarface for a few days, but no such luck. When I read the advertisement it said you would leave with a healthy pink glow ~ which in my mind translated to red, weeping skin. I did leave with a slightly pink glow, but really not much. The experience was relaxing and that's always nice. Any time I'm not obligated to change a diaper with not a moment's notice, it's a relaxing time. I also bought a $40 gel that promises to take off layers of skin, so we'll see if that leaves me red and weepy.

A fish tale

We took the kids to the pier in DesMoines. It was fun to see Bryce and Parker ask all the fishermen "Caught anything"? "What's in your bucket?, oh just saltwater". Most of the fishermen are pretty rough people and I don't think they appreciated the criticism/acknowledgment by my sweet boys about not catching anything. Bryce has been on fishing docks since he was a baby and he has a lot of fond memories of his past summers on the docks. Too bad we don't fish anymore.

Our backyard adventure

My husband had the brilliant idea of having a backyard camp out with our kids. It would be like camping, but be easier because we would have all the necessities of home just a few feet away. We set up a campfire and had a lot of fun with that ~ roasting marshmallows, making smores with candybars (I only ate one). We even had Ryan's parents over to tell silly ghost stories. When it was time to go to bed, we brought the TV/VCR down to the tent and planned on the kids falling asleep during the movie. We thought that would give them the whole camp out experience and then planned to put them inside in their beds once asleep. Things didn't go according to plan. ALL the kids stayed awake for the WHOLE movie. So, we decided to make the best of it and sleep in the tent. It went Bryce, Ollie, Ryan, Me, Halea, Parker. I was so freaked out that Ryan would roll over on Halea, that I couldn't relax enough to fall asleep. I moved Halea to my other side and then was freaked out about Parker kicking her in the head (he tends to thrash in his sleep). I also realized I was laying on the extension cord and it was pressing into my hip and ribs. Not the most comfortable position. Oh, I forgot to mention that I forgot to take my contacts out too, so the burning sensation in my eyes also made for an uncomfortable situation. So, at 2am, Ryan woke up and said he was ready to pack it up and go inside. The trail of tears of sleepy children began. Once inside, they did settle down quickly and we enjoyed five hours of great sleep! I'm feeling pretty exhausted today, but that's what Saturday's are for.

Weight update

This is what I looked like a year ago, and it's what I want to look like again. My weight is finally starting to come down. I had planned on sensibly losing two pounds a week, but this week I lost five. Not that I'm complaining, but I do tend to go a little crazy with it. I am eating, though, just not junky stuff. I feel better. I'm going to start teaching a cardio sculpt class on Monday and Friday starting in September, so that's a good motivator for me to get toned up before then. So, I have five pounds to lose in the next month, before my birthday ~ and I'm happy with my progress.

Veggie Tales: sucked

We took the kids to see Veggie Tales: The pirates that do nothing. It pretty much sucked. Ryan had to break it down for me to get the bigger picture and the spiritual message. I'm glad I have a husband who is so in tune.

On a sad note...

You know how I was feeling super-blessed for our new toy? I still do, but one of the beams that holds up half of the glider is rotten. Ryan and I were trying out the glider (and agreeing that we will have to try it out naked sometime), when we realized that one of the bolts was loose. He looked on top and noticed the part where that bolt would fit is rotten. So, we'll have to sink some money into it before we can experiment with the glider.

Play time for Everyone

After searching for months, we finally found our kid's a playset. We have seen many super cool ones, but our yard is not the most kid-friendly yard, and most of the ones we found would not fit in our sloped backyard. This one is perfect. We answered a craigslist ad. It was last Saturday and the last owner wanted us to come look at it on Sunday. We asked her if we could come and look at it right then and she agreed. We hopped in the car and drove straight to her house. We both got out and looked at it. I went back to the car to sit with our sleeping kids while Ryan checked it out further. Fifteen minutes later a guy drove up and parked next to me. He got out of his car and went up to the door. Just then Ryan was coming out to get his wallet to pay for our new playset. Apparently the other guy had driven from Bellevue and offered the seller more money, but they didn't take it. Heavenly Father really blessed us with this sequence of events. I'll post pictures later.

Twoo Wuv...

I've been a busy girl today. I took Halea to her 4 month checkup - she's in the 50%ile for everything, but she will need to have the cyst removed from her head in about eight months. She also got shots which is never any fun. Then, I bought an answering machine so we don't have to pay for voicemail. I came home and mowed the lawn and blew off the driveway. Then I trimmed some of our shrubs and Bryce collected the yard debris. At times I start to resent my sweet husband for not doing the "man" jobs, but today I had a change to my attitude. When I was getting the lawn mower out, I remembered seeing a severed rat head in the garage, and there it was in the the same spot. I tend to be pretty independent, but I have the most illogical fear of rodents, especially dead ones (I said it was illogical) and I freak out. I was able to get the lawn mower out quickly while I was panicking inside and trying to keep my eyes away from the hideous sight. While I was mowing the lawn my sweetheart came to check on me and I told him about it. He knows how fearful I am, and he went and took care of it for me. That's true love!

Our Day with the Dr.

After four months of waiting, Parker finally had his appointment with the endocrinologist today. Parker is super small for his age, and we were hoping to figure out why. He was diagnosed with an allergy to milk and soy when he was a baby, but the Dr. today said he thinks he was misdiagnosed. They did and x-ray to show the age and development of his bones. He is about the development of a two year old, physically. I'm not sure where he's at cognitively. His spirit is gigantic, though. He was super-feisty during the two hour Dr. appointment. Between the x-ray and having his blood work done, he exhausted himself with all the screaming and squirming he did. Why can't they measure that? I felt blessed to be in the hands of such a competent Dr. I'm hoping he'll be able to get to the bottom of why my little guy isn't growing. (maybe I need to go on Parker's diet).

Weighty Issues

After reviewing our pictures from the other day at the lake, I'm a little bothered by what I see. That coupled with the fact that I've gained five pounds, is setting off the alarms in my head. I can cover up the main problems when I'm bending over or holding my baby girl in front of me, but I'd like to get rid of my problem areas (belly, hips, thighs). A year ago I worked VERY hard to lose all of my pre-baby weight - I got down to the weight I was when I was 20 before getting pregnant with Bryce. So, I got to enjoy being 122 lbs for four days until I noticed my weight creeping back up ~ then the shock of my life happened ~ I was pregnant with what would turn out to be my forever BFF! I love that I have my sweet girl. but I want to lose my last ten pounds (that includes the five I've gained). I'm going back on my diabetic diet and I'm hoping to lose two pounds a week for the next five weeks. And just in time for my 31st birthday.

Summer fun with the fam!

We had a great day at the lake! Ryan played helicopter in the water with the boys. Bryce found some friends to play with. Halea was content just dipping her feet in the water. There was even a playground to play at. No one drowned, we ate the whole watermelon, and we all got home sunburn-free. What a blessed day!

Fun in the Sun! (at the lake)

Today I'm looking forward to a day at the lake with my family. I haven't spent a day at a lake since I was little. I remember my mom buying a watermelon and having that for lunch (because it's food and drink all in one). I hope my kids aren't too busy and I hope we don't have any near drownings. I'll let you know how it goes.

ADHD (with inattention) trials

I forgot to mention something in my last post. I have a workbook that I'm having Bryce work out of for the summer. He has to do it before he can have any privileges like media time. Usually it takes him two to three hours to finish. Yesterday he did not have his medicine and he didn't finish until 2:00 pm. I had a very difficult time deciding whether or not to medicate him, but it became clear to me yesterday that I made the right choice. He is a really bright kid with tons of potential, but he needs his medicine to help him reach that potential. I noticed the Lord's hand in guiding me to make that difficult decision for his own good.

Stripper Parker

I just heard Ryan tell Parker to put his clothes back on. Our son will not keep his clothes on. He will allow undies, but that's it. I waited for so long for him to be able to dress (and undress) himself. Now that he's doing it, though, I kind of wish we could go back to the non-self-care he had before. It was much easier. And it's not exclusive to our house. I went to my brother's house over the weekend and he wouldn't keep his clothes on there, either. Let's have a little modesty!

Happy Birthday to the BEST GUY in my world!

Congratulations to Parker for an almost perfect potty day yesterday! He didn't have any accidents while we were at home yesterday, but when we went to the church to do a church tour with the missionaries, he did a big, stinky poo. I had put a diaper on him to leave the house, and Ryan changed him, so it was really no skin off my nose. Ryan was such a good sport about it! Today is Ryan's birthday (Happy Birthday, Sweetheart)! We will be going out for a day of fun while the kids stay home with grandpa Hoffmann. We're going to see Year One, go mini golfing, go swimming, and hit every restaurant with a free birthday something offer. I'm SOOOOOOO excited! You would think it's my birthday.

It's not quite noon.....

It's not quite noon, but so far this has been an accident-free day. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but I have a good feeling about today! Parker woke up and said he needed to use the bathroom, did a huge poop, and has peed at least five times since ~ all in the potty. It's pretty awesome! What a blessing!!!

Just an update

We did have a poop incident this evening. After dinner, Parker took his undies off and didn't quite make it to the potty. Instead he smeared his poopy butt all over our safe. And of course Ollie, our boy with out pain receptors and apparently also the sense of smell, climbed on the safe and got poop all over himself (on top of his pretty pink nail polish). Ryan was rushing out the door to do his missionary coordination meeting, but he helped me bathe the boys quickly before leaving. I'm sure he was late to his meeting, but I appreciated his help sooooooooo much!

Perfectly Polished!

After the poop mania last night, I got a good night's rest and decided to get a bag of candy as potty rewards. Parker is still just as excited to get candy as he was about the fruit snacks, so it's ok. We have not had any major incidences with poop today, so that's a success.

Instead, Apollo found my nail polish (the color I use for Halea) and decided to paint several long, thick stripes from his chest down to his feet. Or maybe he started at his feet and worked his way back up, I'm not sure. I'm sick of cleaning him up, so I'm just going to leave it. Last weekend my mom was very critical of the bruises he has all over his body (because he's the most fearless child and he doesn't have pain receptors), so maybe this will be a fun thing for her to be critical about when we're together this weekend. FUN!