me and my bud...

Found this cool tutorial and wanted to try it out. Only got about half way through... time for a run/walk/bike ride since I skipped out on aerobics this morning to sleep in.

Big Boy Jackson!

I post this not to announce or brag that my little 2 year old is the cutest in the whole wide world (ok maybe just a little bit), but mostly to record it in his non-existent baby book.

Yesterday, May 18, 2011 Jackson Jefferey Clark went poo poo on the toilet!! Yes, that's right. I was as shocked as you might be right now. He also went pee 3 times by choice. Once being the McDonald's nasty dirty one and you should've seen his face when I turned on the hand dryer. Oh that boy was so happy I could hardly pry him out of that nasty bathroom.

How many times did he ask me to use the potty today, you might ask? Well, none. But that's ok, I'm not quite ready for the gung-ho of potty training an almost 2 1/2 year old boy. We'll go buy some pull ups and some prizes and ease into it slowly.

But let me tell you, he is definitely 2. If he hasn't been for the past 5 months, he officially is now. He has recently decided he does not want to take a nap-- oh I forgot to do a post all about his big boy bed. He got a toddler bed a couple weeks ago since he outsmarted the crib cage. The zipper broke a long time ago so I faced the opening against the wall. Then just one day he learned how to push his crib away from the wall and climb out, almost breaking his poor little neck each time and I decided to bite the bullet, go to walmart, and get him a toddler bed. Grandma of course took him right to Target to pick out some bedding and what did he pick, you wonder. Cars. Kinda like his Cars shirt that he kicks and screams when the day (or two) is over and it's time to put on a new shirt cuz that one is really dirty and stained with the day (or two)'s meals... see? He's 2.

Our Camping Adventure!

Jeff took the boys to the Fathers and Sons outing on Friday night. But since he works at 6:30 am Saturday morning, they came home at midnight to sleep in their own warm beds :) Jeff promised them we would go camping as a family, so Sunday evening we re-packed the car and headed out. We found a great campsite in the Angeles Forest, it was pretty, but COLD! I was getting nervous as I watched the car thermometer tell us it was 32 degrees outside as we drove up the mountain.

We built a fire right away- cooked hotdogs and smores and had a great evening. Sleeping with 4 bodies on a queen blow up matress in the tent with only 3 sleeping bags wasn't my highlight of the trip, but we got through the night!

The next morning I asked the boys if they liked camping. Tyler yelled, "Yes! I DO!!" And Jackson shook his head and said, "Grandpa's house" I'm pretty sure he was telling me that next time we go camping in 3o degree weather, he would like to hang out with Grandpa in his house instead!! :)

A few other funny moments:

In the middle of the night Tyler yelled, "don't let it eat me!" I think the pretend bear rated-G ghost story Jeff told might have been a little too scary :)

Early the next morning after very little sleep, Jackson woke up crying and wanted his binky. I was searching through all the sleeping bags for it and asked if anyone had seen it. Tyler said, "Maybe he swallowed it."

We woke up to the lovely sound of birds chirping. A very weird-- ooh ooh ehh eeh chirp. As we were exiting the tent and getting ready to take a walk, Tyler said he wanted to go find the monkeys. Jeff and I had a good laugh and decided the birds did indeed sound exactly like monkeys. We told him, "they're not monkeys, they're birds". Tyler's reply was very certain and matter of fact. "No they aren't. They are monkeys. Let's go find the monkeys." Even after identifying the birds that were making the monkey sound, he wouldn't give up on his search for the monkeys. On the way home he declared since he didn't see any monkeys while camping, we needed to go to the zoo. today.

I just love spending time with my family! Even though we were mostly freezing cold, didn't get any sleep, and were annoyed by the monkey birds, we had a total blast!!

He does have a conscience!

So, lately Tyler's been lying a lot... Jackson will cry and I'll ask what happened, only to hear Tyler reply, "he fell... he hit himself with a toy... or I didn't do it" all of which with a sneaky face and very obvious that he was involved in whatever just happened to my baby boy.

Today, we were eating oranges when I walked into the other room. A few minutes later, Tyler calmly walked into the office with his hand behind his back. He said, "Mom, I was cutting an orange and this happened" and held out a bloody finger. I yelped and jumped up, (exactly the wrong response) and he started to instantly cry. Oh yeah, dumb mom-- first aid 101: stay calm!

After looking it over I realized this was not a bad cut, cleaned it and put on a bandaid. Then I noticed the two orange halves on the table with no knife in sight. "What knife did you use?" I asked. Immediately, he said, "the kid knife" When I asked him which one, he fished through the silverware drawer and found me the plastic blue shark knife with a serrated edge. Not sure that would cut him, plus it was totally dry. When I asked him why it wasn't dirty, he said, "I washed it" With no stool by the sink I knew the pieces weren't adding up. I looked at our metal butter knives and saw one with orange pulp and juice on it, put back in the silverware drawer in the proper compartment. BINGO. The mystery is solved. When I told Tyler I knew he wasn't telling the truth, He burst into tears again...

I gave him a huge hug and tried not to laugh... teaching moment, teaching moment! I explained to him that I wouldn't have been mad at him if he accidentally cut himself with the knife, I just want him to tell me the truth. We feel bad when we tell lies (remember how you cried?) And we feel better when we tell the truth (don't you feel better now that I know what happened?) Plus I put a little in about Mom always knowing the truth, with my magic eyes (as he calls them) and my smart brain. I hope this is the end of his fib-telling phase!

Mother's Day 2011

I had a great weekend celebrating those I love and what I love about being a mother. My family is my greatest blessing and my heart has been full and happy!

I am also thankful for all the women who support me and love me. My mom, mother-in-law, grandmas, sister, sister-in-laws, and friends... all of which are great examples to me and enrich my life with their friendship.

I told Jeff my mother's day wish was a family picture of us all dressed up, and we got that...not perfect, but captures the day!

I also got a 5 minute back massage from him, full possession of the memory foam pillow we've been trading off each night (mine forever!!) and the cutest little boys in the whole wide world!

...and also, the funnest, most cutest and hardworking man in the world. He's mine. all mine!

Tyler- my little buddy!

Tyler is my special friend! Today I was able to have lots of fun with my family (Jeff's day off!) as well as get lots done. We all woke up tired and dragging so Jeff and I tag-teamed the first couple of hours of the morning. Once we finally were awake and alert, we did yard work, straightened the house, did a load of dishes, two loads of laundry, taught a sewing lesson, and for some, took a nap. At the end of the day, both Jeff and Jackson were sleeping and Tyler was begging me to take him on a bike ride. I stuffed dinner in the oven, handed the timer to a sleepy husband and headed out the door. Tyler is great on his bike! He rode while I walked/ran for more than 30 minutes, around the block to a nearby park and even the nearby cemetery where my great-grandparents are buried. We talked about life and death, heaven and the family we love.

It's so amazing that my spirited, energetic four year old, who tells me to "run as fast as an airbender" and "watch out I'm throwing a fireball at you" during our walk, is also old enough to talk about deep things and listen carefully and ask about our family members who are waiting for us in heaven.

I have to admit that Tyler has been very difficult for me lately. I've felt so frustrated during his temper tantrums, angry yelling and whining. But days like today make me remember what a special boy I have. And it makes me appreciate the good days even more. I had a great time with my little buddy today- Hopefully many many more great days to come!

Easter Sunday

I am a bad mom. Actually I'm not, but when I forget to take pictures of special events like Easter Sunday when my family is all handsomed up in their new church clothes, I have to remind myself I'm not!!
My mom got the boys the CUTEST outfits, so we'll have to wear them next week and take a pic. It'll be my Mother's Day wish :)

EASTER SUNDAY was really awesome! Jeff's mom was still in town and his sister Kaylynn and her family came for a few days to visit, so we got to spend the day with them. After church we had a BBQ and headed to the park to fly kites and throw boomerangs. It was such a blast. I didn't take a camera, but if I did there would be a picture of Tyler laying on a hill and flying a kite- it was pretty cute!
I did snap a few of the egg hunt:

My favorite pic- the boys and their cousin Quai with their sugary loot.

Then we joined my aunt, uncle and cousins for Easter Dinner. It was lovely and we had a fabulous day!

Katie's BYU Graduation

The other highlight of the month was my trip to Utah!! I got to go by myself-- my lovely mother-in-law watched the boys so I could fly without them and spend some girl time with Katie and my Mom. It was so wonderful to be able to enjoy visiting time and celebrate Katie's great accomplishment! We played games, went to the movies, got mani-pedis, went shopping, visited the campus, had lots of yummy food, AND clapped, cried and cheered during the grad ceremony!!

It was really awesome to see my cousins who live in Utah- Micah, David (both not pictured) and Alicia and their baby Kyler and my grandparents went too!

My dad flew in for the graduation on Friday and got there just in time!

Oh, I love my sister!!

Pretend City!!

One of our highlights this month was going to a place called Pretend City! I wish I got a picture of my friend Alissa and I together, her daughter Olivia and my boys are bestest friends. In fact, Olivia goes back and forth from being Tyler's girlfriend, to Jackson's. Of course, my boys love the attention! This is the ONLY picture I got of Olivia :( Once you get there, the kids run off in all different directions, so I tried to keep my boys together.

This place is super cool! It was only $11 per person, which I think is totally worth it.

Pretty much, it is an entire pretend city (hence the name)-

The kids can drive cars from location to location,

They can mail letters at the post office,

Go grocery shopping,

Dig in the sand at the beach,

fill up the car with gas,

See baby chicks at the farm,

Explore with water at the marina,

go fishing at the bay,

pretend you are swimming in the lake,

walk on crutches at the doctor's office,

see which bone is pretend-broken,

and even become a doctor yourself.

It was a super amazing day with good friends and well behaved children!!

Jeff's Birthday!!

We had a great time celebrating Jeff's birthday this year. We were so lucky to be able to spend his actual birth-DAY with both families (in both states!) Ken's birthday is on the 4th, Jeff's is on the 5th and his brother Kasey's is on the 2nd. So we headed over to AZ for a weekend of birthday fun. We pretty much just played all weekend (and watched some Conference too!) It was wonderful! The weather was perfect for playing at the park, the kids loved jumping on the trampoline and us parents enjoyed playing games late at night! Jeff's cousin Veronica and her family came so there were tons of kids to entertain each other!

Jeff and Kenny blowing out their candles. (We lit them a few times and the boys joined in too!)

Then after driving home Tuesday morning from 1am-6am, Jeff went to work from 9-3 and I spent the day with my eyes half open :) That night we headed to my parents for a dinner and presents, and I made this cake:

He got a new pair of shoes from his parents and a pair of roller blades from mine, a big-kid slip'n'slide from me and the boys and golf lessons, and some other fun things!!

Ohmy gosh, I am so sick of staring at my fake bloody toe. I promise I will do updates soon. Probably will be a whole April post. When my brother calls me just to tell me I need to update the blog, I know it's bad! It's because it's been an awesome/exhausting month-- soon to be revealed:

Jeff's Birthday

Arizona Trip

Pretend City

Utah Trip

Katie's BYU Graduation

Easter Sunday

Katie's Cali visit-- Aquarium tomorrow, Beach Saturday...

Anything else I can cram into the month of April!

April Fools Funnies

I laughed a lot today. Starting with the text picture Katie sent me of her boss' office strategically covered in foil. Which reminded me that I have to do a prank fast before Jeff realized what day it was. So I called him on the phone in my most whiny voice and told him I fell getting out of the shower and cut my toe and am pretty sure I need stitches. He told me to send him a picture. I thought, oh crap... until I decided to cover my toe in ketchup and send him a pix message of that.

So I walk into the kitchen and pull the ketchup bottle out of the fridge. Tyler heard my conversation and kept saying, "what toe is hurt mom, where's the blood mom? What's bleeding all over?" He followed me in the kitchen and watched me squirt ketchup all over my big toe and looked at me all crazy-like, "what are you doing mom, why are you doing that, mom?" I snapped a picture and he said, "Can I lick it mom? Now can I lick it?" (this dude LOVES ketchup) And even though my toe was just-got-out-of-the-shower-clean, I did not let him lick it off.

About 40 minutes later (yeah, I would have died of blood loss by now) Jeff tells me it looks like a blob of ketchup and I loose it and start laughing. That's how good I am at April Fool's jokes.

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Another thing that made me laugh:

ME: "Tyler do you know it's almost dad's birthday? We need to be thinking about what to get him."

Ty: wide eyes, mouth open, excited look, "yeah! I know, a dinosaur."

Me: "Well, that's something you would like. Let's think about something DAD would like"

Ty: thinks for a second. "Oh I know. A cadewack. He WUUVS cadewacks." cadewack=cadillac

Me: busting up laughing.

Ty: "It's not funny mom"

Me: "No it really is. Do you know what a cadillac is?" Jeff talks about cadillacs all the time!

Ty: shrugs his shoulder, "I donno. Oh wait, yes I do... our car. the purple cadewack."

Me: "You're so smart."

Ty: "Ok, wet's get him a cadewack."

So, problem solved :)

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Today I told Tyler it was a day to make lots of jokes. I think I told him this while pouring ketchup on my toes. So I asked him if he wanted to hear a joke. He said yes. I told him the ol' knock knock, banana who... joke and he repeated each phrase. Then when I finally said, "orange you glad I didn't say banana?" He just looked at me. I asked him if he got the joke and he said, "you're funny mom. That's a funny joke. We don't say 'banana who?, orange who?' that's funny mom."

So, he didn't really get it, but he still thought it was funny. I'll take it!

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We finished off the day with meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting and a candle on top!

TODAY...random thoughts from my little head:

TODAY I made $210 on keyfobs sold to CHS Cheer Boosters. Well, it took me a couple weeks to actually earn it, but I will have cash to deposit into my account tomorrow- going directly to cover surgery costs. I'm still paying for it -physically and fiscally :)

TODAY we inherited a sleeper sofa from a family who's moving. It's now in our office, which I really need to organize and now when we have visitors, they can sleep comfortably in a room where they can close the door... as opposed to our room, in which the door won't close. Good thing our kids are young :)

TODAY I realized how much I love my grocery shopping situation: Either I get to drop my boys off in the back room to play with Grandma and Grandpa while I shop, or I call my husband 10 minutes before closing time and he brings me all ingredients needed in the dinner that I didn't plan until 10 minutes earlier. This really (and I mean really) beats trying to get two kids to stay in a cart or walk nicely next to me while I check over my list and don't forget anything in the hopes that I don't have to go again the next day.

TODAY I finished reading Hunger Games #3... hmmm. I enjoyed 1&2 better than 3, but they all sure have made me thankful for the freedoms I enjoy. Can you imagine being thrust in an arena to fight to the death? I would definitely lose quickly. I am so not aggressive and I don't think I could ever kill a person, even in self defense. But I guess that's how she started out, too.

TODAY was HOT! I think the high was 92? I wore capri shorts, turned on the AC, wished I had AC in my car, got some color on my face, and even complained about how warm it was. Time for me to be ready for this beautiful California weather. And time to pull out the summer clothes!

My sweet awesome hot husband!

Just for a second, I want to say how proud of Jeff I am! He has been working out everyday, getting up really early so he can hang out with the kids after work. He's working really hard and eating really healthy and has already lost 15 lbs in 2 weeks! I'm so proud of him and want to post this picture that he loves! Our goal is to get in great shape by July so we feel super good at Lake Powell! I'm gonna start taking aerobics classes so that I am healthy and fit too!

Love you Jeffers- thanks for being such an amazing, hardworking, helpful husband and kind, loving, awesome dad!!

Tyler Funnies and Teaching Moment

Today, while Tyler was playing with a Santa Claus Weeble (you know, those toys that have only a top half and it wobbles around the table), he asked me:

"Mom, does Santa have private parts?"

Tyler and Jackson were given a Power Wheels Jeep Truck that they can ride in and drive in the backyard. Tyler has gotten really good at it, and knows how to go forward and switch the gears to go backward and which direction to turn. "I told him, pretty soon you'll be ready to drive a real car."

He said, "no, not yet. I might crash into a police man. And then that would be bad. And then I'd be put in jail."

On the way back from Vegas (4 hour drive) Tyler was talking up a storm.

Ty: "We don't spit. Huh Mom, we don't spit. Can I spit on bugs?"

Me: "Um, no I don't know why you'd want to spit on bugs."

Ty:"But can I spit on them?"

Me: "I guess, if you really want to and we are outside"

Ty: "So can I spit on Roley Poleys?"

me (exhausted of this conversation) "Sure"

Ty: "But I don't want to! I like Roley Poleys."

Last week, one of my dear friends lost her baby at 18 weeks. It was a devastatingly sad day, and I was an emotional wreck after I heard the news. Tyler saw me crying and asked what was wrong. I told him that my friend's baby died. When he asked me why, I told him that the baby was sick and Heavenly Father needed her back in heaven. I told him it was a really good thing because heaven is so much better than earth.

A couple days later while I was saying a dinner prayer, Tyler said (during my prayer), "Mom don't forget to say, Thank you that we die."

I turned that sentence into, "Thank you for the plan of salvation, that we get to live on earth and then go back to heaven and live with you and Jesus."

I hope this was a good learning experience for him, I know I always have to be ready to explain basic concepts into something a 4 year old can comprehend.