Frogs and Tarantulas

Oh oh oh woke up today feeling the way I always do. oh oh oh" cleaning the house, ready to leave for Jazzercise, but couldn't find the keys... normal stuff like that, when suddenly the day got very weird, very quickly! I was grabbing a towel from the porch to put it in the Laundry and it felt gooey and moist (and it should have been dry). I come to realize that the towel IS dry, it just feels gooey because I am actually grabbing a frog that was sitting on the towel. I got excited because we aren't really allowed to have pets at our apartment and so whenever we find little amphibians, we put them in a cage for a week and let the kids take care of them. They love it! So I let the kids help me catch it and we had a very exciting time!

 Then we went outside to look for rocks and leaves to put in the cage... everything was still pretty normal, other than the fact that we caught a frog in La Costa at our apartment complex, until we got back in the house. I was holding the door open for the kids to come through, when Lucy says "Look at that big spider" I look above my head in the doorway, not worried, because I have worked really hard to conquer my fear of spiders over the years and I have completely conquered it...or so I thought. BUT...I definitely had to remind myself to stay calm when I saw a huge, hairy, black... TARANTULA about a foot away from my face. Yes, there is a Tarantula in my doorway right now. It has been there for over an hour now. I am not freaking out too badly, I stayed calm enough to take some pictures anyway, but I will probably leave our house over the patio wall, instead of using the front door. If you want a new pet, you can give me a call and come pick it up. Apparently they go for about $20 at the pet store...but this one is free! And after reading about them they eat frogs, go figure! Maybe that is why he is here. I know they are harmless, but I would rather spray a black widow with poison than have this harmless creepy creature live in my doorway! Hahaha... what an adventure! Just when I was wishing my kids had a yard so they could experience more of nature... apparently you don't need a yard for that experience...and I guess you need to be more specific about what you mean by "nature"...be careful what you wish for! Long post...long morning...it isn't even noon yet! Anyway...check out the picture of our new pets!

 Part 2:  AJ Dustin came a few hours later and removed this wild and creepy creature.

 Now he is off to show it to his friends before he releases it to the wild.

  Thanks AJ.  Even his mom, Becky Dustin got in there and helped out.  What a brave woman!

 One last pic to remember today's adventure! Lucy did not want me to take this picture.  She was very afraid that the spider would eat the frog...cute!

I love you!

While snuggling Lucy tonight...we apologized for being mean to each other during the day...she started it by saying how sorry she was for not listening and then I apologized for yelling. We told each other we loved each other and then she said such a priceless line that I hope I remember forever:

"Mommy I will love you forever. Even if I say I don't love you, really I always will."

I may need to remember this in moments to come. What a very sweet and loving girl.

I was thinking of why Jesus said to be like a child. I came up with many reasons, one of which is that children are very full of love and very quick to forgive and forget.

Children are no respecter of people. Today Levi waved "Hi" to all sorts of people, many of which I would not have said "Hi" to. But he didn't judge them, he was friendly anyway. I am sure Jesus wants us to be friendly to everyone.

Children want to help with everything. They learn very quickly. They are humble when you correct them and show them how to do something. They remember when you give them your word, but forget when you do something wrong.

Sometimes I feel like I am not as "good" of a person as I used to be before I had kids, because I was always nice and patient with children (when I only watched them for a few hours). I was also really kind to my spouse and left him notes and made him things all the time (which I usually don't have time or energy for anymore). But then I remind myself that the trials that I face now are much more challenging. Of course, I was always nice when I got enough sleep and had lots of free time to do whatever I wanted and no one hung on me and cried when I tried to call someone or make food. Now, although I lose my patience more, I think I have actually become more patient as a whole, because I can stand a lot of craziness for a long time before losing it. Even though each day is harder, being a Mother has helped me to become much more Christlike as I hardly do things for myself anymore, and try to be kind despite utter and complete exhaustion. I would be fooling myself to look in the past and think that I was a better person then just because I had easier trials and I was a nicer person. I am sure there will always be another dimension to being like Christ. As we conquer each little obstacle it gets harder, as to improve us more. We will always be looking back thinking (wasn't life easy when...)


Enough deep thinking... on a sillier note, last night Lucy and I were arguing about whether mermaids were real. I was arguing that they probably were real and that we had no way of proving that they didn't exist. Lucy was arguing that they are only in our imagination. We talked about a real mermaid we saw at the beach (yes we saw a girl at the beach swimming around with a fin last summer). When I asked Lucy about it, she went off on how she was fake and how she saw her with legs and that she took her fin off (even though this was 6 months ago and she said nothing about it to me at the time). She told me "I know mermaids aren't real." When I asked how she knew, she told me very seriously "I prayed about it and the spirit told me in my mind that there are no mermaids." Well, I couldn't argue anymore after that. I told her Heavenly Father would know best what he created and if He told her that then He was right. Such intense discussions with a four year old. I seriously felt like I was in some speech and debate competition with all her evidence. I hope we can enjoy Christmas just a few more years!

Wedgies

The topic is Wedgies...is that even how you spell wedgie? Probably not in the dictionary... anyway, Lucy sure keeps life interesting!

The other night I was snuggling her before bed, that special time when she asks me deep questions about life.

She gets all profound on me and asks "Mom why do we get wedgies?"

While I am floundering for an answer about the size of our underwear and how far we pull them up Lucy continues: "Because I always get a lot of wedgies"

We took her underwear shopping the next week. Apparently it was time for the next size!

Little Climber Legoland Summer 2011

Here we are at the Legoland fort...Levi is insisting on being a big boy and doing it all by himself!



He watched Lucy climb up a rope tube...


And then the next minute, he was like "I can do that!"

And look...he made it all the way on his own.


Love those little climbers

Lucy made it as a volunteer in the princess show. She got to be a jouster. How cute is that little horse costume!


And when we got home I promised some face painting because there is no way I am paying $14 for something that is going to wash off the same night!

Hey, I am not that artistically inclined, but she asked for rainbows, so I got off easy!
I love summer!

Beach Days

Ah, beach days...this is the life!



Levi started really walking this week (he was taking little practice steps before, but this week was the shift from primarily crawling everywhere to primarily walking everywhere). He crawled to the water and then just stood up and started going. The waves were calling him. I can already hear him begging me to go on the surf trip with Uncle Brian! Caught a few steps on camera:



This kid sure isn't afraid of the water. He doesn't mind the cold either. In fact, he actively tries to dunk his head under and he comes up laughing when I let him! He is just like a happy dog at the beach!



Lucy learned to Boogie Board and Body Surf all by herself this summer. What an amazing swimmer! Nothing makes me happier than watching my little mermaid dash happily through the waves.We have gone to the beach a lot this summer because everyone is happy there. Both kids forget the need to sleep or eat and just have total and complete fun the entire time. It is such a great break for a couple hours...until we get in the car and everyone realizes they are dying of starvation and are too tired to even eat! I try to feed them snacks while we are there, but I can only get a bite or two in. I love it, love it, love it, even despite the tired ride home. I wish summer would never end! I took some pictures and videos on Thursday because I realized I hadn't snapped any all summer. We have just been having too much fun to go get the camera out!

Harry Poppins?

Lucy was begging me to watch a show...she asked me "Mom can we please watch a show?" Then she held up Mary Poppins and said "But I haven't watched Harry Poppins before..." and to further improve her argument, she added "Can we just watch 5 miles of it? Please..."

Anyone want to come over and watch 5 miles of Harry Poppins with us?

The Fair 2011

The Fair was soooo much fun this year! Dave got unlimited Fair tickets for his birthday this year so we were able to go a few times! Lucy was old enough to really enjoy it! And I was not 8 months pregnant like last year so I fared better too!

We started out visiting the horses. Lucy was crushed when she found out she couldn't ride the horses there, but tried to suffice with an imaginary ride! She takes horses seriously!

Well, yeehaw! She made it look so fun...Dave and Levi wanted to join too!
We let Lucy choose one ride because we were kind of on a budget. She chose the spider swing! When she watched it go around and made her selection there was tons of kids aboard, but when she got on, she was the only kid in line! I thought that would make her sad, because it sure looked lonely, but she smiled so big and put her hands up anyway. Just having fun in her own little world, thrilled that she got to ride something!

At night the lights were really beautiful! Even though the kids were tired, nobody was about to close their eyes and miss out on any magical fair moments. Here is the kids looking up at the lights and rides! Pure amazement, huh?


Got some big smiles in there too!

Levi was getting really tired, but he only opened his eyes wider. Yup turns out we have another live wire in the family...seriously though... sleep is so overrated! Maybe one of our kids won't mind putting his head down when he is tired like Dave... I look forward to this child with very dear emotions, but for now I just enjoy the party!
Here was our view of the fair from where we parked...so beautiful, huh? Very worth the walk up the hill with the stroller, plus we saved 10 bucks!


I went back for more fun on another day and entered Levi in the diaper derby. I had high hopes since I won the diaper derby at the Del Mar Fair 26 years ago. I thought maybe it was in the genes... ...but Levi just started socializing with another cute baby, backed off the line, disqualified himself, shattered his mother's dreams, but still got the 3rd place ribbon, because only 2 babies actually came in and Levi did turn around and make it the whole way across and come in third. He is fast, but I guess we didn't train hard enough! Levi wasn't impressed with his ribbon!



On the other hand, Lucy had a magnificent time! Papa let her go on the trampoline!

I have never seen a happier 3 minutes! Pure bliss!


And then if that wasn't good enough, he topped it off with a pony ride! She has been asking to ride a horse for months now! All of Lucy's dreams came true in one magical day!

I expected to hear how thrilling the ride was, but when she got off she asked me "When do I get to run on a horse?" One step at a time there cowgirl!

What a fun time! Thank you so much for the tickets Mom and Dad! We had a blast!

Fourth of July

Fourth of July is always one of my favorite holidays!

The day started as it always does...stagecoach park, pancakes, and a bike parade! Lucy was old enough to join!




And Papa was still young enough to join! Gotta love good old Uncle Sam. My Dad is such an exciting person! I love it!

I didn't even plan the opposite stripes and hats on purpose, so I had to take a picture of this cute coincidence!

Levi is 9 and 1/2 months here. Crawling fast, climbing everything, took his first two steps yesterday, July 3 (of course I set him all up and he wasn't that balanced, but those legs moved on their own)...so cute!

Having fun with Papa at the next party!

Here is Levi showing off his mad standing skills! He has been pulling himself to standing for a while, but today he figured out how to get to standing without holding anything. It won't be long before he is just running around!
Finished the afternoon at the beach! What else would you do on the fourth?


Lucy and Aunt Lani, never a dull moment! Lucy is having entirely too much fun with her being home for the summer!

They are so cute!
Over to the snows for another pool party and watched multiple firework shows from their backyard. I love to be up close, but this was fun and probably better with the baby anyway.

Easter and Pictures

I finally found some patience for a picture upload, so here is some Lucy and Levi Love after the drought!

Easter after church at my parents house.


Oh Wow, my kids are so adorable...



And they love each other sooooo much... (I didn't even tell Lucy to do that! She is so sweet and love her brother so much!)


And... oh wait...how did this picture get uploaded!!!! You guys come on we are pretending to be perfect! Lucy let Levi out of the headlock and please don't bite him or else you will get a time out! (We have had a little more sibling rivalry going on at home now that Levi can crawl to Lucy's toys and steal them. I never knew a 7 month old baby could bug his older sister quite so much and he thinks it is funny already!)

Easter Egg Hunt!!!
We won Best Egg Overall at the Church Activity Easter Egg Decorating Contest due to me and Lucy's Rapunzel obsession!


It was a great Easter to say the least!!! No really it was. We had such a fun time. We ate foods Jesus would eat all week, and had lessons about his life and read scriptures by candlelight. I loved it!

Here are some more random pictures of our life recently:

Levi's first official beach trip. "Official" meaning he went in the water and not just his toes. It was April 16 2011 and he loved it. I dunked him to his neck to wash the sand off and he didn't even cry. He was in heaven although the picture would suggest otherwise.


Last Thursday we went to the beach. Dave and I played some volleyball while Lucy entertained Levi. She did a pretty good job because he was laughing hard and I have never seen so much sand on a baby's face before. Surprisingly he didn't even cry when I drenched him in the freezing showers.

Lucy came out with Levi's pants on the other day and said "Mom, I have never worn these pants before!" I was surprised they fit her so well!
Went to Legoland on Monday. It was hot so even Levi got to go on the splashpad. He was a hit just splashing and laughing. A stranger even asked me if they could take his picture. Later I saw some people in a line and they said, "Oh you are the one with the baby who loves the water. He was so funny."



Here is Lucy pushing Levi in the swing!


Our little heat spell has made me so excited! This is going to be a fun summer!


Quick little update:

Levi is a fast army crawler these days. He has even pulled up on the furniture a bit. He surprises me everyday. He laughs a lot and has a wonderful sense of humor. He loves to eat! He chows everything and tries to swallow the spoon. It is a huge difference from Lucy. Levi doesn't even care if he nurses, I insist that he nurses a few times a day. Lucy would have perished if she had to rely on solids. She gaged on everything until at least 9 months. Levi loves music. He shakes his head and bounces to the beat. I dunked Levi under the water at the pool on Tuesday and he loved it! He was 20 lbs at his 6 month check up and I am sure he is more now! Big Kid!

Lucy loves her gymnastics class. I thought it would be an outlet for her daring spirit, but I think it is encouraging jumping off of furniture and hanging upside down on anything she can grab. She can sound out lots of words, although she hasn't learned all the hard weird letter like x and z. She loves to swim and can take a few breaths now without my help. She sleep walks and talks which is hilarious. I should try to catch it on video. She is so fun and imaginative. She names everything really unique names and you can ask her the Spanish word for anything and she will make something up and tell you. She wants to know "Why?" about everything. She is an absolute joy!

What fun ages and stages right now. We just can't get enough of them!