Nauvoo

This weekend we went to Nauvoo.  The temple was gorgeous, the town just liked I remembered it and we had a really great time.  It was especially fun to spend time with Jesse's mom and dad.  For some reason I have no picture of the kids with them, so I will have to remedy that when they get to our house. 

Jesse and I were both teenagers the last time either of us had been to Nauvoo, and the temple had not been rebuilt back then.  We were especially excited to see it in person. 

The boys enjoyed it, too.  Henry just liked running around and looking at the flowers, but Ezra told me, "It is very too beautiful.  I will go inside when I'm a man."

The boys could spend forever looking at flowers.  This is at the visitor's center.  I, unfortunately, thought it would be a good idea to walk from the visitor's center to the rest of the Nauvoo sites.  It was in the high 90's with like 40 percent humidity.  Let's just say that we didn't walk back to the visitor's center.

Henry didn't know if he would survive the walk :) 

This is outside the blacksmith's shop.  Ezra is still wearing his Prairie Diamond. 

It wouldn't be a vacation for Jesse unless we took a silly picture. 

This is just the best picture ever.  Ezra was really interested in Joseph Smith's history and asked tons of questions.  We had some awesome teaching moments talking about the sacrifices that Joseph Smith made so that the gospel of Jesus Christ could be restored. 

Corn and Cows

I'm not even going to try and play "catch up."  Instead, here is a recap of our summer so far, in the land of "corn and cows."  Literally.  I like to refer to it as my Summer of Exile.  That being said, we've been having a good time.  Take a look:

Iowa County Dairy Breakfast - So fun and silly.  A pancake breakfast wouldn't be complete without milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese samples being passed out by the county beauty pageant contestants (in dresses, sashes and heels) and ice cream.

 The meal was topped off with a petting zoo, balloon animals - or swords in our case- and a tractor ride.

Playing outside - we've been spending tons of time outside playing and catching bugs.  I especially love the fireflies and the boys are obsessed with crickets.

Madison Children's Museum

Watching lots of movies - 

Jesse and his mini-me

Summer treats

Spending lots of time at parks - the parks here are awesome.  Obviously no regulations or concern for safety.  All of the parks have decades old equipment mixed with newer stuff.  We've especially been enjoying the merry-go-rounds, enormous teeter totters and, in the worlds of Ezra, the "Slide of Death."

"Big Back Porch"

I've reached a stage in my life were I just don't get embarrassed all that often. Not because embarrassing things don't happen to me. On the contrary, embarrassing things happen to me so often that I've almost become immune to the emotion.


Last week I got embarrassed.

A couple minutes from my house there is a drive-through convenience store. That’s right. I don’t even have to get out of the car to get a soda. And they carry caffeine free Coke. I actually don’t drink a lot of soda, but every so often I think it’s a fun treat for me and my kids. Just for the record the caffeine free is for the kiddos – I’m obsessed with Dr. Pepper. Who doesn’t like a little bubbly sugar, right?

Well, last week I was in the mood for a DP and Ezra had been such a good boy all week, so I swung by the drive through on the way home from preschool. I pulled up and rolled down my window. The gas station clerk opened her very large window. I ordered and she turned around to go get my order. It was at that moment when things unraveled.

Ezra, in a very loud, very clear voice says, “Mommy, look! That woman has a BIG, FAT BUTT!”

Then, if that weren’t bad enough, Henry chimes in, just as loud, just as clear, “It’s a Big Back Porch!”

Yeah.

I hoped she hadn’t heard. Let’s just say, she never returned. Another woman returned with our sodas and took our money. Who wants to bet the first woman could have been found crying in the bathroom?

Ezra and I had a great discussion about NOT commenting on another person’s size.

Henry will NOT be watching a certain Disney movie that contains the “Big Back Porch” quote anytime soon.

Hogle Zoo

Last Friday the kids and I took a trip to Hogle Zoo (thanks, Mom, for the pass!). We LOVE it! Although it is a 45-60 minute drive, it is definitely worth it. The kids can stay all day. In addition to the animals, there is a train, carousel, playground and one dollar ice cream cones. What more could you ask for? Maybe an giant metal elephant that plays music and forcefully puffs air out of its inanimate trunk? Luckily for us, they have that, too.

Playing with the elephant

Enjoying the ice cream

We were lucky enough to arrive at the tiger exhibit right when the beast was waking up.  It was pretty awesome being that close to it while stretched and groomed.  Ezra was so excited about it.  He asked for the camera and took about fifty shots of it.  Then he took pictures of the rest of the animals we looked at (including quite a few zoo patrons). 

The gorilla was right next to the glass.  As you can see, it was very serious. 

Lovin' the Parks

One thing I love about Provo is the abundance of parks.  They are everywhere and they are all fantastic.  We have really been enjoying the beautiful weather the last month.  I figure we better spend as much time as possible outside before it gets too cold. 

One Year Recap

Here are the three main things we have done this past year in which I have not blogged:

1.   Sold Our House

We did it!  We sold our home!  Last fall we began discussing the idea of putting our home up for sale.  We decided to sell in January, got it up on the market in February, got an offer on it in May and the sell finally went through in August.  Although it was a CRAZY process that felt like it consumed my life, we were really blessed throughout the whole thing.  It was definitely a good, faith-building learning experience. 

2.  Went To Disneyland (A Lot!)

 

I love Disneyland.  It has been my family vacation spot since I was a little girl.  I can't even count how many wonderful Halloweens I have spent there.  Anyways, Jesse's family lives about 90 minutes from the park.  So, for my birthday last year, we got annual passes.  Then, in January, my little sister Lauren started a college internship with Disneyland and worked at the park (California Adventure to be specific).  To make a potentially long story short, we spent a ton of time at Disneyland over the past year.  We've learned some excellent tips and tricks and made some awesome family memories.  I almost cried when our passes expiered over labor day. 

Drumroll Please . . . . . .

3.  Applied to the BYU MBA Program (Jesse did), Got Accepted, MOVED, and Started the BYU MBA Program!



Man Hair

This morning I spiked up part of Ezra's hair with styling glue. He then looked in the mirror and happlily declared, "I have man hair!"

Princess of Poop (WARNING: DISGUSTING TOPIC)

The past three years of my life (since Ezra's birth) have been filled with massive amounts of poop. I have had poop on my walls, on my clothes and smooshed into my carpet. I have changed poopy blowouts all over Nevada, California and Utah. I have looked at a poopy mess, and cried.
Up until yesterday, I thought my poop experiences couldn't get any worse. I was wrong.

I could expound upon the story, but I'm going to cut to the chase. Here's the scene:

Where: Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant
When: Lunch Time (restuarant is packed)
Who: Jesse, Cami, Ezra (culprit) and Henry
What: Poop Spectacular

Scene starts with Jesse taking Ezra to the bathroom. True to form, Ezra cooperates with number one, refuses to go number two.

Flash forward to the end of the meal. Jesse begins to sniff around. First he checks Henry's bum. After finding no poop, he looks at Ezra's bum. Jesse and I exchange horrified looks. "Let's get out of here!" One of us declares. We gather up our things and begin to get out of the booth. Ezra runs ahead of us a few feet. Then begins to gallop, shuffle and shake. I assume he's walking funky to avoid feeling the poop on his bum. Without warning a baseball sized glop of poop falls to the floor next to Ezra's feet. Completely non-plussed, Ezra continues walking like nothing happened.

Jesse and I stare for a minute in complete shock. There is our child's POOP chilling on the floor of a restaurant! Not just a little poop, but a HUGE TURD staring back at the patrons of restaurant while they are enjoying their lunch.

Fortunately Jesse kept his wits about him, scooped up the poop in a baby wipe and ushered us quickly out of the restaurant. I, on the hand, lost it once the embarassment passed and we were back to our car. Tears were streaming down my cheeks I was laughing so hard. I would claim the title of Queen of Poop, but there has to be someone out there who more fully deserves it. So, here is my official decree: I AM THE PRINCESS OF POOP!

Jewelry Party and Scrunch Glove Party!

The Premier Jewelry Party will now be a jewelry party and a Scrunch Glove Party. The creator of the Scrunch Glove (which is a really awesome hair curling tool) will be at my house doing demonstrations and selling the product for a really great price. It's Thursday (the 20th) at 7:00 pm.

Jewelry Party . . .

At my house, this Thursday at 7:00 pm. Come hang out, try on jewelry and eat some sweets. Kids welcome :)

Tomorrow. My House. 10am - Noon.

Scrunch Glove Party!
Catherine Gifford, the inventor of the scunch glove will be at my house tomorrow, from 10.am -noon (open house) doing demonstrations and selling the scrunch glove at really great price. The scrunch glove is a product and styling technique to curl your hair. It works great on all hair types - even straight! Come over and have some fun! Kids are welcome.

Disneyland Trip

For Mother's Day, Jesse surprised me with a fully planned trip to Disneyland the following weekend. It was exactly what I had been wanting and we had the BEST time. My wonderful Brother and Sister in law let us stay at their house for the weekend, so we had the added bonus of spending time with family during the vacay. Thanks Spencer and Kim! We love you guys!

(I love the above picture. Ezra totally crashed part way through California Adventure. Doesn't it look like Henry's thinking, "Wet Willy Time!")

We only went the park for one day, but we hit it hard. We arrived around ten in the morning and didn't leave until after 11:30 pm. That's right, baby; We kept our 8 month old and our 2 year at Disneyland for over twelve hours. And they enjoyed it! Ezra especially enjoyed the little bit of Coke we gave him after his evening nap. Ezra + 1st dose of caffeine = enough energy to make it through Disneyland.

Currently, Ezra's favorite movie is Dumbo. "Really?" you ask. "Dumbo!?!" Let me break it down for you: Trains, elephants and a mommy. Once I realized it had those three elements, I got it. Sort of. Anyways, Ezra couldn't wait to ride Casey Jr. at Disneyland. We'd been talking about it for days beforehand. Unfortunately, we had to wait in line for about twenty minutes before it was our turn. That meant twenty minutes of Ezra watching other people get on the train while he had to patiently stand in line. Actually, "patiently" is the completely wrong word. More like "weep and wail and cry" in line until it was his turn to climb aboard. Truth be told, it was pretty cute. Once we were on the ride all tears were forgotten and we've been talking about how we "rode in the orange cage" ever since.

Henry, as usual, was perfect. Enjoyed the rides, took a few naps and went crazy over beef jerky. Just for the record, beef jerky gets really nasty after it's sucked on.

Although we had to wait in line for most of the rides, there was only one other meltdown. Can you guess? That's right. Our major meltdown occured in line for . . .drumroll please. . . DUMBO! The wait was only about twenty or thirty minutes, but it was twenty or thirty minutes of real tears. People around me were smiling and laughing. Everytime that Dumbo would take off without him, Ezra would reach his arms out towards the flying Dumbos and cry "I NEED Dumbo! I NEED Dumbo!" Once again, it was pretty funny.

Besides those two rides, Ezra was totally patient and excited. He had such a good time. His absolute favorite ride was Matterhorn. He got to go on it twice and he LOVED it. Crazy kid!

One of my favorite parts of the day was getting to watch the firework show. I had never seen a Disneyland one before, and it was really spectacular. I would totally recommend staying for one.

After a fun filled day, we finally headed back to our car, which we had purposefully parked at a nearby mall instead of at the park. We pushed our two half-sleeping kids up a ginormously long and weaving wheelchair ramp only to find the entrance to the mall blocked off by rope and a line of people on the other side who were waiting to get into a hip nightclub. I was prepared to move the rope, but fortunately, the "bouncer" (is the the right word?) came to our rescue. As we crossed the line into the "club line territory" a man pointed and shouted with dismay, "they're getting in!" Keep in mind that not only do we have two babies in a double stoller, but we've been at Disneyland for over twelve hours. I'm sure I look totally hot in my jean shorts with tennis shoes and barely any makeup left on my face. The absurdity of it struck as funny and before I could stop myself I looked at the man and busted out laughing. Not the nicest thing to do, but what's done is done.

Thankfully, we made it back to Spencer and Kim's house without falling asleep. We spent the rest of the weekend have a great time swimming and celebrating birthdays. Overall, a super successful family vacation!

Ezra's First Motorcycle Accident

You can now call the little guy "Ezra Knievel." Last night, he tried to climb on top of Jesse's motorcycle (that was chillin' in the garage) and ended up buried beneath it. After a rough night, we went to the ER early this morning. Both his right Tibia and Fibula are broken right above the ankle. Ezra is now sporting a full leg splint and and will soon be sporting a fancy cast. Just in time for swimming season. Nice. We go to the Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon on Thursday, so we'll know more about what's in store for us later in the week. As always, Henry was awesome and enjoyed the whole ER experience.