The Duckie Drop

Our friends/neighbors gave us tickets to the Duckie Drop at the Washington County Rec Center on Monday night. We have never been before, but we thought it sounded like something the kids would like to do. I was worried it would be absolutely packed with people, but we were pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't too bad.

The Rec Center fills up the dump bucket with rubber ducks and each duck has a number on it and once you have grabbed your duck you can turn it in for prizes. 

The first hour we were there it was just open swim and of course the kids loved it. Kylie brought her friend Nash  and as much as Jase fought us while we were trying to put his suit on he really loved being there.

 Kylie and Nash with their ducks. 

I was really surprised by the prizes they were handing out.  I saw them give away scooters and huge easter baskets full of stuff. I guess our kids were bad duck pickers because we didn't walk away with anything quite like that, but I don't think they were disappointed with what they got!

All the kids two and under had their own dolphin drop and Jase brought this home with him. 

It was definitely a fun night and I think the swimming got us all very excited for summer!!

Hallelujah

It's been TWO whole weeks since Jase has seen the likes of these...

And it was all his idea! He took a look at one of them one night and said, "binky yucky" so I told him to go throw it away. He took all 8 of then and walked into the bathroom and threw them in the garbage. I think he regretted his decision a little bit and it took him a night a two to get used to the idea, but he actually has done really well without them considering how attached he was to them. His naps are still awesome and he still sleeps in really well (on the days we don't have to get up for Kylie's school).  He has always been one really great sleeper and I can't be more grateful!! Now if only he wasn't totally, completely and 100% against going potty on the toilet  we would be in excellent shape!!

What Were You Doing...

EIGHT years ago today?

I was getting married!!

Spring Break in AZ

The kids and I took a last minute trip to Arizona for most of Spring Break. This was the second time I have ridden by myself with the kids, but they do really really well in the car.

They were getting a little bit restless towards the end on the way there so Kylie requested we listen to the Tarzan sound track which has some pretty entertaining song when your've been cooped up in the car for 6 hours. The two of them got laughing so hard it was hilarious. I did my best to grab a picture of it from the front seat while I was driving.

We spent the week

hanging out by the pool,

having a picnic and playing at the splash pad,

visiting a "train park"

 and of course we can't forget riding Grandpa's motorcycle and Ashley and David's little motor bike.

We also celebrated Ashley's birthday, bathed in Grandma's awesome bath and found success at a new shopping center. I unfortunately got really sick the second day we were there, but if I am going to get sick being at my mom's is the best place to be. I am pretty sure I didn't do a single thing for my kids all week and they we were well taken care of. Arizona is always a good time and this time certainly didn't disappoint!  

* By the way, Jase would have nothing to do with his swim suit. He would not go near it, but you can bet he wanted everything to do with the water!! 

The Last Few Days

I swear we will have nothing going on for weeks and weeks and weeks and then we'll have jam-packed days full of good times.

Last Saturday night we headed out to a new (well, new to us) park in Coral Canyon. It was a fun park with  climbing walls, swings, slides, digging toys and bouncy things.

Jeremy's most favorite thing was this airplane. He begged kids to get in it so he could swing them around. He got these two laughing pretty hard!

He also loved the digging toy and tried his best to get Jase to appreciate it too!

We love picnics!! At least two or three times a week we spread out a blanket on our living room floor and eat lunch on it. On Monday we decided to take it outside. We walked down to the little park at the end of our street and ate there.  Obviously the sun was shinning pretty bright!!

We enjoyed running around and playing. Kylie thought she might get an early start on her tan and Jase found a pile of ants he couldn't stay away from. They also put on a show for me by dancing around on the amphitheater steps. 

Kylie also got her Kindergarten shots on Monday which she has been stressing out about for months and months. She had probably brought a hundred times how much she did not want shots. I scheduled her appointment, but didn't tell her about it until the morning of. I also told her we could go get a special treat when we were done. She absolutely had a major come apart at the doctor to the point that I was holding her down with all my might so she would hold still long enough to not break the needles. She was terrified, but she survived thank goodness and all she wanted for a special treat was a popsicle.

Also on Monday some friends invited us over for family night. We had a BBQ and they saddled up their horse and let the kids ride. Kylie couldn't wait to ride a horse again and Jase thoroughly enjoyed his first time. Jase has talked several times about the horsey since then.

Life really is good!! We can't complain. We seem to stay busy and manage to have some fun every once in awhile.

I Heart St. George

It's beautiful sunny days like today that makes me so grateful for where we live. We've been to the park several times the last couple week and I got to be honest, it sure beats shovelin' snow!!

Some of the Little Things

I sometimes forget to write down the little everyday things that go on around here. These two have so much personality and so many things going on. They are constantly changing  and growing and I want to remember what they were like at this age. So, here are a few things Kylie and Jase are up to these days...

Kylie is 4 1/2 and reminds us often that her 5th birthday is coming up in the summer. She seems to think that once she is 5 she will be able to do ANYTHING. She is pretty convinces that 5 means she will be all grown up. Hopefully she won't be too disappointed!!!  She loves going to school and I have been told several times by her teacher how awesome she is doing. She has been reading for quite awhile now and has passed off over 60 books (of course they are little beginner books, but books nonetheless). She loves to follow along in the hymn book and the scriptures to find words she recognizes. She loves Primary and always comes home excited to tell us what she learned. Today she came home with a pin-wheel and asked me to blow on it, then she said very matter-of-factly "Mom, you know what's more powerful then wind; the Priesthood!"  Kylie loves her friends. She loves to be outside running around and collecting special rocks from our rock piles. She has baggies and baggies full of rocks she loves. She loves to dance and sing. She is still Taylor Swift's biggest fan and wants to grow her hair just like hers (and Rapunzel's) She's definitely one of my most favorite people to talk to. Yesterday I was having a particularly hard day and she come up to me and said, "Mom, I will give you a hug, I give great hugs." And she does!! She's a pretty good little eater although she would rather have 1 bite of 40 different things, then eat all of one thing.   She has her moments and there are times when I think she will make me crazy, but for the most part she is one good little girl that tries her best to do what Jesus wants her to do and loves her little brother like crazy. We love her more than anything and are so grateful to be her parents. 

Jase is at one of my favorite ages. He's independent, but so fun to watch learn and discover new things. He recent mastered counting to 12 and almost have his alphabet down. He loves to sing! He's always singing some song he's picked up somewhere. Most of the time it's the Happy Birthday song, this morning he sang Jesus Wants Me For a Sun-beck with Jeremy! He insists on saying the prayer at every meal and if he doesn't get to say it, he is not happy!! He is great at saying "please" and "thank you" and  "no, thank you" and every morning after I comb his hair he looks in the mirror and says, "handsome Jase." He loves to be outside and he does his best to keep up with the other kids. He loves his bike and he loves shoes. He mimics most anything Kylie does and keep us laughing.He loves nursery (finally) and his leaders say singing time is his favorite. We have been told by several ward members that they love to watch him at church. One of the members of the bishopric told us that he loves how animated Jase is. Jase has his frustrating moments as well. He's going through a phase (I hope) where he likes to tattle on anyone he thinks is "mean."  He is also the first to point out when something has been fun.   I love his big smile and his funny personality.  I am grateful for the things he is teaching me and I love being his mom!

Shoe Fetish

Jase of all people has a major shoe fetish. He LOVES them. He doesn't care who's they are, or what size they happen to be he will find someway to trudge around the house in them. His most favorite are boots, but recently he has discovered flip flops and he thinks those are pretty funny, until he gets frustrated with them. The most ironic (and frustrating) thing about this whole situation is the second, and I mean the second, we get into the car to go anywhere the first thing he does is rip off his shoes and socks and throws them on the floor. He can't stand wearing them in the car. 

Another funny thing, totally unrelated to the shoe thing is

this kid insists his snacks be put into a pitcher. The only conclusion I have come up with is I think he likes the handle and the lid that goes with it. He swings that puppy around all day long and as you can see he has quite the collection of snacks. With a container that big he's sure to never run out. (Don't worry I have never filled the pitcher completely up, in fact I usually put it in some other container and he finds the pitcher in the cupboard himself)  Funny kid! He keeps us laughing most days.