Memorial Weekend 2009

This year for Memorial weekend we went camping with the Ashby's up to Lovell Canyon (between Vegas and Parumph). We had a hard time deciding where to go and thought we had settled on Logandale Trails, but after Josh's accident (with Jaron's toy gun), Josh didn't think he could ride his bike so we went to the mountains instead. That was fine by me. Logandale doesn't have trees and it was supposed to have been in the mid 90's, the mountains were much cooler (about 15 degrees).

The first night we got there all we did was set up camp, eat dinner, and hang out by the fire (we weren't supposed to have one, but we did anyway). The boys built a really nice fire pit. I didn't sleep well that night. I am a light sleeper and I saw, around 3 am, a light shining on our tent along with hearing noises like someone was walking around our camp. I also heard someone or something messing with our garbage bag hanging from a nearby tree. Josh told me I was just being paranoid, but I know what I heard. Luckily nothing was gone or messed with when we woke up.

The next day the boys were off playing all day, we hardly saw them except for meals and for rides on the four wheelers. On one of the rides that Josh took the boys on, as they were leaving Jantzen said, "bye bye suckas!" Then Josh said he was singing Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" for the whole ride. He's so cute! It was nice that the boys could go explore the mountains, including Jantzen this time. He had a lot of fun hanging out with the big kids. I caught them making a track in the dirt for the bugs. It was pretty cool, except for the fact that they were spraying bug spray on it so I don't think any bugs are going to be using it any time soon. Jantzen and Daniella worked together on theirs, they were buddies the whole time we were camping.




While the kids were playing Tricia and I hung out in the sun trying to get some color on our legs (I was also trying to get my ankles to go down and not be so swollen). Josh, on the other hand, decided he would take a nap. I guess that's one of the best parts of camping, being lazy while relaxing. This time I actually got some pictures of Jaron. Last time we went camping I hardly saw him at all.



As always, Jantzen had a ton of fun playing with Joey. He literally got down and dirty while playing with him. That's one thing he really enjoys about camping, getting dirty and not having to take a bath every night. He also built a cool robot out of blocks that he had to show off to everyone. He did a pretty good job.

Everyone there got to listen to Jantzen talk about having a "Wonder Pets" birthday party and everything that goes along with it. I was amazed at how much Caden and Spencer knew about the Wonder Pets. Then Jantzen proceed to tell them that he is waiting for the "Wonder Pets Save Boba Fett" episode to come on TV, he is going to be waiting for a long time.



That night we enjoyed "hobo" dinners and smores while visiting some more. It was nice when all the kids went to bed, so peaceful and quiet. It was just us adults sitting around visiting.


Our last day there we just took our time packing up everything. The kids went off to play some more and got a few more rides in on the four wheelers. The kids found a tree up there that they called "The Happy Tree". I'm not sure why, but that's what they named it. Here is a picture of Caden, Daniella, Spencer, and Jantzen in it.

I think after a couple days the kids were getting tired and worn out from camping so they just hung out by the fire pit and chatted. I got some cute pictures of Jaron and Jantzen together. They are best buds! I love how they love each other so much. Jaron included Jantzen a lot this weekend, which made it nice for me not having to entertain him the whole time.






One of the last things Jantzen did was play some more with Joey. Joey was sitting in the shade so Jantzen went over to hang out with him. Joey was already dirty so Jantzen thought he would help him out a little bit more. He started using a stick to scoop up dirt and put it on Joey's back. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I'm painting him brown. He doesn't want to be white anymore". I thought that was hilarious! Joey didn't seem to mind at all, he just laid there the whole time.


We were finally on our way home, to much needed showers by all of us. Jantzen wore himself out so much that he didn't make it very far before he fell asleep. He didn't look very comfortable, but he didn't complain at all.


Overall, it was another fun weekend of camping. I'm not sure if we will be going again this summer because Jaedyn is due in three months, but we'll for sure go more from now on. The boys love it and it's nice to get away from Vegas.

Joy School Preschool Class of 2009

Introducing the Joy School Graduates of 2009...Jantzen, Gavin, Bailey, McClayn, and Emma Lynn.


Today Jantzen had his graduation for his "Joy School Preschool". It is a co-op preschool that me and four other friends taught together. It was fun taking turns teaching these awesome kids. They were so much fun and taught me a lot. Jantzen really enjoyed having his friends to play with every week and he learned a lot. He now can spell his whole name and he does an awesome job!

Each of the kids had a turn being spotlighted and, of course, almost everything about Jantzen (he gave his own answers) involved Boba Fett or the color green in some way. He is so funny when it comes to those two things. That's all his world revolves around these days.

He didn't want to give me a good smile as he walked down the stairs...after a few tries I eventually got one out of him.



Graduation was at Julie's house and she did an awesome job. The hats looked so cute and all the kids got a goody bag filled with yummy treats. The kids even made pom poms and a flag for the occasion. They used the things they made to sing us a song.



Jantzen was really excited for the goody bag, that's all he wanted. He has already used the sidewalk chalk in it to draw all over our patio. Guess what he drew...that's right, BOBA FETT!!


I had to get a picture of me with my little graduate. I am so proud of him for all he has learned this year. I mostly had him in this preschool so he could make friends outside of Jaron and to give him something to do during the week while Jaron was at school. I think he made some great friends.


My cute little man had to give the "I did it" thumbs up. He will be going to preschool again next year at Ms. Tanya's (where Jaron went) and he is so excited to do it again. That's all he has talked about all day, and the fact that after that he will get to go to the big kid school with his big brother Jaron. He can't wait.


I can't forget his, "hey baby". That's for all the ladies out there.


Good job Jantzen! We are so proud of you and all you have learned this year. Including preschool again next year, you only have 14 more years of school..unless you go to college and then it will be more, but you'll do great! We Love You!

Jantzen's New Bed

Sometimes Jantzen does the cutest things. When it's bath time both him and Jaron take their sweet time...sometimes it's Jaron that's done first and other times it's Jantzen.

The other night it was Jantzen that finished first so we had to wait a long time for Jaron to get out of the shower. While we waited I decided to update my blog and Jantzen was just playing in the toy room. Not too long after it was completely silent. I looked around and there was no Jantzen...where did he go? It's not like him to be so quiet. After I looked around in the toy room I finally found him. He had made himself a bed using his Little People Barn as a headboard, his sleeping bag as a pillow, and his big Elmo and Ducky as blankets, not to mention he was wearing only one of his garden gloves. It's no wonder I couldn't find him. He was almost completely buried with toys. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen...and how clever is he.

He was sleeping so peacefully that I decided not to move him and let Josh do it when he got home from work. It's a good thing I have kids to make me smile everyday with the crazy things they do.

Stupid Toy Gun!

Who knew that this thing could be so dangerous...


Last night while Josh and I were watching TV before bedtime Josh got a boo boo. He got up to get something, I don't even remember what, and Jaron's storm trooper gun that he got from Disneyland was laying on the floor. Apparently, Josh doesn't look where he's stepping and he stepped right on it and then kicked it with his foot. He did his bouncing around complaining thing, I don't blame him...I'm sure it hurt. He didn't notice until he was coming out of the kitchen that he was bleeding on the bottom of his foot. He had left a blood drop trail on the tile. I hurried up and checked to make sure he hadn't gotten blood on the carpet, he told me I needed to check his foot out first.


I told him I was going to play doctor and fix it up for him. He, of course being a tough guy, said to just put a band aid on it and it will be fine. I told him no, that I was going to clean it out and bandage it up because a band aid will just fall off. He reluctantly let me do what I wanted. I got out the achohol cleaning pad and he freaked out and told me I wasn't to use that on him. I told him, "Sit down and shut your mouth. I'm cleaning it out!" He didn't really like that, but did it anyway. He acted like a total baby, but what else can be expected...he's a guy. I tried to blow on it as much as I could, but I can only do so much until I start to get light headed. I have to admit, I did laugh a little at his misery but just because of the way he was acting. Is that a bad thing?

After much complaining I got his foot all taken care of and bandaged up. It took about a dime size chunk of skin out of his foot. He can't walk on it very well because it hurts too much. I told him the cost was going to be $300 for the next five years...he said okay. I think I did a pretty good job, just call me Dr. Kati.


So, the lesson here would be...WATCH WHERE YOU'RE WALKING!! If you don't bad things might happen.

Just "Horsing" Around

Right after we bought our Tahoe we decided to go for a drive up in the mountains with Josh's parents and sisters above St. George to see Dee and Gary. We went to their ranch where they have two horses and a bull. The boys love animals so they were very excited to see them. Jantzen went right up to the horses and wanted to start playing with them. We had to keep reminding him that he had to be careful around them because he could get hurt if they kicked him. I think he thought it was going to be like playing with a dog. Jantzen knows that my favorite animal has always been a horse so he wanted to see what they were all about. Jaron wasn't afraid of them, but he still kept his distance at first, just until he felt comfortable.




We had arrived just in time for grooming and feeding of the horses. Both of the boys got to help with this. They each had a turn brushing the horses. They thought this was pretty cool. Jantzen was talking to them as if they were a little child, very calmly. He was so good with them, telling them that he wouldn't hurt them, he's a nice boy. I think Jaron enjoyed brushing them, but he thought they were a little stinky. Jantzen got a little too close to the bull and it didn't like that so he head butted his gate which at first freaked Jantzen out, but then he thought it was funny because the bull kept doing it. I told him he should probably back off and stop making him mad.



After they had been groomed it was time to feed them. The boys also got to help with this. They each go to put some food and hay into the horses feeding barrels. Jantzen thought it was cool how they eat. After they were done feeding the boys just ran around and played until it was time to go.


Before we headed home we stopped at Dee and Gary's house to see Duncan and Mocha, their labradors that Jantzen just loves. He played with them and when it was time to go he was a little sad. He didn't want to leave yet but it was getting late and we still had to drive back to Vegas. As we were leaving I overheard Jantzen say very calmly and lovingly to the dogs, "Don't worry, I'll come back soon to see you. It will be okay". It was so cute how he had his arms around them and looked right in their eyes as he said this. I am amazed by how kind this kid is to animals. A part of me thinks he will be a veterinarian when he gets older because of his love for all animals.

It was a great weekend and we will be going up there again soon so the boys can see the horses again.

Little Cuddle Buddy

Jantzen cracks me up! For the past month or so he hasn't liked sleeping alone in his bed. He started coming into our room in the morning so he could cuddle with me and Josh. We wouldn't mind it so much if he weren't such a bed hog and a wiggler. He always moves too much and puts his body sideways as if he's trying to kick us out of our own bed so he can have it all to himself. He started coming in anywhere between midnight and 3am, but since has changed to 5:30am. I think he has figured out what time Josh leaves for work (4am) so he comes in when he can have his side of the bed and not be squished in the middle. When Jantzen first started coming in he would just stand on my side of the bed and wait for me to notice him, which sometimes freaked me out.

A couple weeks ago we had Taylor staying over at our house for a few nights. We made a bed for her in Jaron's room. I guess Jantzen decided that he wanted to be a part of it so when I woke up to no Jantzen in my bed I wondered what was up...I found him cuddling with Jaron in Jaron's bed. The next morning I found him cuddling with Taylor. He was just laying there patiently waiting for them to wake up. Jantzen, of course, had to pretend he was asleep for the picture. He's a hamm!




Just yesterday I woke up to both boys in bed with me. Jantzen informed me that there was "two monkeys" in the bed. I hope this doesn't mean that Jaron is going to start doing this too. Our bed isn't big enough! Maybe we should buy a bigger one. Hopefully as soon as we move Jantzen to Jaron's room to share he will be okay. I don't mind cuddling with him, but I hate getting kicked, especially when he has one side of the bed to himself. I still love him anyways!

Fun Friday!

A couple of Friday's ago we had the Bullinger's over for a BBQ and Rockband. While the adults chatted and waited for the burgers and dogs to cook the kids played in the swimming pool. It wasn't filled up yet, we were just in the process of doing it, but they didn't care. I think they had about six inches of really cold water to play in, it didn't seem to phase them at all. They had a good time!



The kids were done in the pool about the same time the food was finally done. They lasted longer than I thought they would. We made them eat outside so they wouldn't get water all over my floor. I thought they all looked like orphans so I had to take a picture. Why can't they all smile? It's always one or both of my boys making a face. Cheeseheads!! Dinner was really good. I'm not a beef eater, but since I've been pregnant hamburgers have sounded good to me, they taste good too. I still can't eat any other kind of beef. How weird is that?


After dinner the kids went upstairs to play while us adults played Rockband. I mostly sing because my hand hurts if I play guitar or bass too much and I'm REALLY bad on the drums. It's a good thing it has a "no fail" mode on it. We had a good time playing, chatting, and eating Twizzlers Bites and Sweedish Fish (YUMMY!). After a while of playing everyone started getting tired, especially Jantzen. He fell asleep on my lap along with Jaron. I guess my tummy is a nice pillow these days. The only bad thing about that is they both get really hot when they sleep so they got me all sweaty, but I still love them. Overall it was a fun night.

Happy Mother's Day To Me!

Mother's Day crept up on me very fast this year. I didn't realize it was this weekend until a couple days ago, however, none of my boys forgot about it. They all remembered and even took time to make me gifts. Even though Mother's Day isn't until tomorrow they were too excited to wait to give me their gifts so I got all three of them today.

Jaron made me this beautiful basket with flowers on it that he filled with Hershey Kisses. He said that he was giving them to me because he loves to give me kisses. He also wrote me a letter telling me the reasons why he loves me. It was the most beautiful letter I have ever read. It took a lot for me to hold back the tears because it was so sweet. Even Josh had a hard time trying not to cry after reading it.



Jantzen made me this beautiful necklace at preschool that he of course made all green. It's not only his favorite color, but mine too. He had a really hard time keeping it a secret from me. He kept asking me when I was going to open my necklace so I could wear it. I absolutely love it! I told him I will wear it to church on Mother's Day. That made him really happy.


And last, but not least, was my gift from Josh. All I wanted for Mother's Day this year was a new pair of slippers. Jantzen threw up on mine a few weeks ago and it wouldn't wash out so I had to throw them away. Instead I got this...


That's right! Josh bought me a new car! We went to pick it up in St. George today. I have been wanting a Tahoe for the longest time and never thought I would get one. We test drove it a couple weeks ago but thought it was a little too much so we didn't get it. After two weeks of negotiations we finally got it! It is awesome!! Even the boys love it. Now they don't have to cook in the hot Vegas heat during the summer waiting for the AC to reach them. It has a ton of cool features that are probably going to take me a while to figure out, but we love it.

Even though it's not quite Mother's Day yet I've had the best Mother's Day Ever!! All of my boys have spoiled me and I love it! I have the best boys in the whole world. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a mother and a wife and for all the blessings I receive because of it. I wouldn't trade my job for anything. I am so lucky to have a husband who works so hard so that I can stay home with my children. Have I mentioned that I love my boys? Not just because they gave me gifts today, but because they are true blessings in my life that bring me so much happiness that I wouldn't know if I didn't have them. Thank you to all my boys. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!