Weird Fascinations

I really don't know why my boys are so fascinated by scorpions, but they are. Josh was stung by a scorpion on Christmas Eve 2007 just outside of Jaron's bedroom and we thought we were going to have to spend the night in the ER, luckily we didn't have to. The last time we saw a scorpion in our house was New Years Eve 2007. Ever since then they have all been interested in them.


All was quiet about scorpions and I thought we wouldn't have to think about them anymore and then Josh came home from work one day a few months ago with a scorpion made out of wire. Apparently a guy that Josh works with makes them and has since made several of them for all the boys. As soon as Jaron saw them he wanted some for himself. Josh has since learned himself how to make them. All three of them have at least two or three of them in their rooms. I better not find any of them on the floor!


I think that Josh jinxed us because last week he found a baby scorpion in our house by our garage door. He took it to work and killed it there. Then he called me to let me know that they have been making them wrong, scorpions have eight legs, not six. I'm glad they got that cleared up (I'm being sarcastic here). A couple days later I was picking up Jantzen's shoes from outside on the patio and there was a big scorpion under them. I smashed it of course, I wasn't going to let it live and reproduce on my property. Needless to say, the bug guy came yesterday to spray our house so hopefully we won't see anymore.

Junior Firefighters

On Thursday we went to the fire station for a preschool field trip. It almost didn't happen because no one from the city office would call me back to set it up, but after a little bugging they called me back. I'm so glad they did because the kids were really excited when I told them we were going and they were super cute when we were there.

The kids were a little shy when we first got there and I told the firemen that they normally aren't like that, but after being there for a few minutes they weren't so shy anymore. They got to see where the firemen sleep, eat, workout, etc. I think the best part for them was when they got to go see the fire truck. Every time they would open a door on the side of the truck to show what was inside the boys got really excited, especially Gavin. I think he showed the most enthusiasm out of all the kids. When the fireman showed the door containing the shovels, he asked if any of them have one at home. Jantzen proceeded to tell him "yes, I dig up lady bugs with it". I don't know why he is so obsessed with lady bugs.

The kids got to take turns sitting inside the truck while the fireman showed them everything inside, including the masks they wear (they put it on for the kids to see what they look like with it). They thought it was cool except for Bailey, she wouldn't go inside. I got a picture of the kids in front of the truck with one of the firemen and, as always, Jantzen had to pull a funny face in it. He's such a hamm!




Then, even more excitement came when they turned on all the fire truck lights for the kids to see. They were running around telling us all the colors they saw. It was so cute to see their expressions.


I wanted to get a picture of the kids by the back of the fire truck, but the firemen insisted that me and Alicia get in the picture. I hate always being the tallest person in pictures.


When our field trip was all done the firemen gave each one of the kids a fire hat and a bag with coloring books, crayons, and stickers inside. The kids had a good time, so did I. I loved seeing the kids get excited and the firemen were really good with them. They really seemed to have a good time with the kids too.

Funny Things My Kids Say

My boys can be really funny with the things they say. They definitely keep us laughing. I thought I would keep track of some of these things so I can remember them always. Here is just a few examples of what they say:

"Want a piece of me, cupcake?" (Jantzen says this to Jaron when they are play fighting.)

"Did you see that barking spider?" (Jaron said this when he was sweeping the floor after dinner. By the way, a barking spider is a fart according to Josh, and yes it was Jaron that did it. Living with all boys is so much fun!)

"No, I'm going to be a turd and make a mess." (Jantzen said this when we asked him to help clean the toy room.)

"I'm not stinky, I smell like peanut butter." (Jantzen said this when I was changing his diaper, and no it didn't smell like peanut butter.)

"You rock dude! Give me five!" (Jantzen says this to Jaron when they are playing their instruments.)

"No, I stink, stank, stunk!" (Jantzen said this when we asked him if he was poopy. He got it from "The Grinch", his favorite Christmas movie.)

"I'll go potty in the toilet tomorrow." (Jantzen says this every time we ask him if he wants to be a big boy and go potty in the toilet.)

"It smells like a butterfly." (Another diaper change of Jantzen's that he claims didn't smell bad.)

"I'm cute!" (I have caught both of the boys doing this while looking in the mirror.)

"Be careful, you're going to break it off!" (Jantzen says this when I'm drying him off after his bath. I have to remind him it's not going to break off. I sometimes wish Josh was home at night to bathe him.)

"You go have a timeout in your room!" (Jantzen will say this to me and Josh when we tell him he needs a timeout. He's so sassy sometimes, he gets it from his dad.)

"Take a lesson!" (Jantzen said this when Josh told him not to give him attitude.)

Any time Josh or I tell Jantzen to do something, he will say he's going to do the complete opposite.

I know there are many more things that Jaron and Jantzen have said that make us laugh, but I can't remember them all. I'm glad they have a good sense of humor. They can always make us smile, even when we've had a really bad day.

Out With the Ladies!

Last Saturday I had a fun afternoon/evening out with a bunch of friends. We went to see "Bride Wars". I have to go see the chick flicks with my friends because Josh isn't a big fan of them (little does he know that he will eventually end up watching them all with me anyway). It was a really cute movie, one I will definitely be adding to my ever growing "chick flick" collection. A couple of girls I was sitting between got a few tears in their eyes towards the end, so down went the passing of the tissues. Katie and I were sniffling, but it wasn't because we were crying, it was because we both have a cold (hers worse than mine, poor girl). After dinner we went to eat at a really yummy Mexican restaurant. It reminded me of my favorite Mexican place in Utah, so I will be taking Josh there soon! I had a great time hanging out with everyone and we already have a movie picked out for the next two months. I'm so excited!

Josh had a great time hanging out with the boys. He informed me that they watched "Star Wars Clone Wars", then they went to McDonald's where some crazy guy started threatening to hurt someone because the manager wouldn't let him read a newspaper unless he paid for it (Josh didn't stay there to let the boys to play, they understood why). They came back home to eat and watch another "Star Wars" movie. I'm not a big fan of those movies so my boys like to have their "boys night out" so they can enjoy them without me around. I'm glad they had a good time too.


From left: Tina, Claudia, Me, Tricia, Kris, Katie W, and Shadoe up front and center

School's Back in Session

Last week Jaron finally went back to school after being off for 5 1/2 weeks (track break and winter break combined). It was good for him to get back into a routine and to start doing homework again, although I don't think he would agree with me. I wasn't too happy about having to get up early either. I was really enjoying sleeping in and being lazy in the morning. Now I just need to make myself get up even earlier to get back in the habit of working out. Those darn holidays kill me! Jaron hated having to get up early again so therefore he was slow in getting ready and we were almost late to school. Too bad for him, he got his video games taken away until he could be ready on time in the morning (I'm such a mean mom). He moved a little faster the next couple days, but still was taking his time. He wanted to play with Jantzen instead of getting ready. Luckily for him we made it on time to school everyday, barely!

The days have been pretty quiet around here since Jaron went back. Jantzen plays good by himself, but prefers to have Jaron home. He asks all day long when his Jar-Bear will be home and when Jaron does come home he gets all excited. I didn't think they would be so happy to see each other after the long break. They started fighting a lot towards the end. I think they had been with each other way too long. It's cute how they love each other so much. Jantzen and I decided to start a movie/cuddling day to our daily routine. It's been a lot of fun so far. We'll see how long they last. Both Jantzen and Jaron claim they will cuddle with me forever, but Josh just laughs and says they won't.

The Friday before school started I decided to take the boys to the dinosaur park for one last day of freedom. Taylor, Kennedy, Sadie, and Tate came also. They had a lot of fun running around and playing. It was a beautiful day, perfect for the park. While the boys have fun playing together, just the two of them, they always have a lot more fun with their aunt Taylor and their cousins, so it was nice that they could all be together.



I wanted to capture all their fun in pictures, but Jantzen had to be a stinker and not sit up with the rest of the kids. He just wanted to sit in the tires down below (bottom right hand corner). He was happy to pose for me the rest of the time. I think he just likes too have his own spotlight. He's can be so cute that sometimes it makes you forget how stubborn he can be, only for a little while though. Oh, how I wish I could be a kid again!

Twilight Again!

I went to see Twilight again yesterday (for the fourth time) with Taryn, it gets better every time I see it. I know I'm really sad, but I love this movie! Josh just laughs at me. He doesn't care how many times I see it. He did ask me how it was and if anything had changed from the first time I saw it (ya, Edward gets cuter every time, is that what you wanted to hear?). I can't wait until it comes out on DVD so Josh can start having a weekly Twilight movie party with me (he's going to be so excited, I just know it). I guess you can say all of this is Nena's fault. She's the one that convinced me to read these books, so "thank you" Nena from me and a "THANKS A LOT" from Josh.

Friends, Bikes, & Poop

After partying all night on New Years Eve we decided to go ride bikes the next day up at the dry lake bed with the Ashby's and the Thompson's. We had a lot of fun as usual even though it was a little cold. Jaron didn't ride his bike much, he just wanted to play his DS with Jace in their truck, but Jantzen bummed a lot of rides.



I know I've mentioned this before, but Jantzen says the funniest things. He was eating a bunch of Cheetos and then out of the blue he just sat down against the bed of Josh's truck. He got that serious look on his face so Josh asked him if he was pooping. Jantzen's response was, "No, I'm going potty". I decided to take his picture because I'm such a nice mom that wants to show off pictures later to embarrass my kids and he responded again with, "I can't smile for the picture". Then after a minute he informed me, "I'm done, I can smile now". I then informed Josh that he gets to change him. Have fun!!


We had a good time and as always got some good laughs in with Jantzen around. I wish I could say he's cheap entertainment, but he's not, especially since he won't go potty in the toilet yet.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's finally 2009, Yeah! Another year has gone by and I don't think I did any of my resolutions from last year, so this year I'm not making any, it's just empty promises I don't intend on keeping.


New Years Eve was fun this year. We went to the Ashby's to play games and eat junk (one of my resolutions last year was to eat better, ha ha, like that was really going to happen). One thing we did was play Rock Band, I know that seems like it's all we do, but it's not. It was fun! There was some interesting singing going on, very entertaining (I won't say by who, Valden).



Jantzen had to be my cheesy child, again. He wanted me to take his picture and he couldn't sit still or be serious. He also had to lay by Joey while he was sleeping and pretend he was sleeping too. He was so excited to get to hang out at Joey's house. That's all he talked about all day. He's so funny!



Once it hit midnight we went outside to blow our horns and disrupt the neighborhood, I think we were the only ones out there. Jantzen had fun, but I don't think Jaron was into it that much.



I really didn't see much of Jaron all night. I almost forgot he was there. He spent the whole night upstairs playing with Jace, Caden, and Spencer. He had a good time though and that's all that matters.


Jantzen made it longer than I thought he would. He wanted me to hold him and two seconds later he was gone. He lasted until 1:30 am, that's better than Josh and I did last year. We only made it until 10 pm. Jaron made it past 2 am and didn't want to go to bed yet, but we made him.


We had a good time hanging out and acting like we were young again (not that we are that old). It was fun being with good friends to end 2008 and start 2009. Now, who's ready for their New Year's kiss? Pucker up!