walk it out revisited

The other day, Ky was begging me to watch the Kade & Ky show, which means that he wanted to watch some home videos. While we were going through them, we pulled out the "Walk It Out" music video that Bart made of the boys last February when they were getting really good at walking. I thought I should post the video here for any of you that missed it the first time, and for anyone else who has forgotten how fun it is. It is time for Bart to make another video, since this one is 8 months old, and the boys have changed so much since then.

Enjoy!

Walk It Out

happy birthday bart!

Bart turned 27 on the 27th! Hooray! Unfortunately he had to share his birthday with the ward Halloween party, which I was in charge of all the games for. So, we had to spread out his birthday over the entire weekend to fit in everything.

Friday I made him his traditional birthday dinner: lasagna. We waited until the boys were in bed so we could actually enjoy the meal. (It worked so well that we decided we should do that more often.) Saturday morning, Bart went to put some air in one of the tires on our Mitsubishi, and found a screw in it. So he spent the morning of his birthday buying new tires. Not quite what he wanted to do with his birthday, but hey, he got two new tires for his birthday!


Also, it would have been nice if the Gators could have won on his birthday. Oh well, what can you do?


Happy Birthday Bart! I LOVE YOU and I'm so glad that I've been able to share 4 1/2 years of your 27 years with you.

Ky & Kade help Daddy open his gifts

Ky & Kade cheer when daddy blows out all the candles!

entertainment

The boys have had colds the last few days, which means we haven't done much, which also means that the days seems very long. It's hard to find things to entertain two almost two-year olds inside for days at a time. So, I guess it's good that my boys can entertain me. Yesterday morning, after I had given the boys some juice, Ky came up to me and we had the following conversation:
Ky: "Mommy, I make mess."
Me: "You did? Where?"
Ky: "Shirt all wet."
Sure enough, his shirt was totally soaked. I thought maybe the lid had come off his sippy cup, but no. He must have drank the juice and spit it out repeatedly until he had completely soaked his shirt. Wait, it gets better.
Later that evening, when it was time to get ready for bed, I stripped Ky down to his diaper so he and Kade could have a bath. He started tugging on his diaper, so I said, "Ky, don't take your diaper off. I don't want you to tinkle on the floor." He went around the corner toward the bathroom,and not ten seconds later he came back, naked, and said, "Mommy, I tinkle floor!" Sure enough, in the hallway next to his diaper was a puddle.
I guess when we are all this bored and stir-crazy, this is entertainment!

where to next?

I try not to look too much to the future, and really just enjoy the now, but there is a little thing in the future that seems to consume much of my thoughts lately. That little thing is: where are we going to live when Bart is done in 8 months? We could probably find a job just about anywhere in the great, big United States of America (we have limited it down that far. I do not want to live in a foreign country), but where do we even begin to look? It just occurred to me a few weeks ago that eight months is not very long from now (and Bart takes his last test exactly eight months from today!), we are hoping that Bart has a job secured before he finishes school, and it's going to take several months to apply for jobs, attend interviews, commit to something, etc. So, we are going to have to start that process relatively soon. And we don't even know where to look. Of course we have begun to pray and fast about it, but there are so many things to consider in choosing where to live, somewhat permanently. (I'm ready for this move to be somewhat permanent. We have been married for 4 1/2 years and have lived in 5 different wards. Enough is enough already!) We have to consider proximity to family, climate, living expenses, cost of housing, quality of school systems, probable starting salary, and what fun recreational activities an area may offer, etc., etc., etc. It's all too much and so we have decided to leave this decision up to all of you. Please respond to the poll on the sidebar. Also, we are not above accepting bribes!

our budding artist

This afternoon, I was distracted by a good (short) article in the Ensign. (Page 62 of the October issue) and turned my back to my boys. They were in the same room, I could hear them, and I had no reason to believe that something was not right, (i.e. crying, fighting, or the silence that mothers recognize as a sign that their children are up to no good). But all I heard was happy, playful jabbering. When I finished the touching article, I turned around to see the "masterpiece" that Kade had drawn on our wall!
At least I don't have to deal with the guilt I would have if I had been distracted by something else, like the TV, or the internet. I was reading the Ensign. Perhaps the twinge I felt in my heart wasn't because the article was inspiring, maybe I was being told to "turn around!"
For future reference, 409 does take most of a Roseart Red Orange crayon off the wall, and leaves most of the paint on.

halloween preview

On Friday night we went to a Halloween party at the community rec center. Ky and Kade were excited to dress up and I think they look pretty scary (or adorable, however you want to look at it) in their bat costumes. I didn't think their costumes were going to be ready in time, since I only found out about the party two days earlier. But, after a few setbacks, I finished their costumes while they napped Friday afternoon, and they were ready with about an hour to spare! Their costumes will be even cuter for our other parties, because their grandma sent some cute black hats that we will use instead of the headbands. Apparently no one sells winter hats in Florida in October (thanks Denni!).


Kade loved the trick-or-treating wall. He would run from one hole to the next, peer in, and wait for more candy! Ky had to be coaxed to each hole, but was thrilled each time another piece of candy was dropped in his pumpkin.


Ky's favorite part was the train ride he got to take, and Kade's favorite part was, you guessed it, the candy! He must belong to me!

Kade posing

Kade trick-or-treating

Ky being coaxed to trick-or-treat

Kade, mommy, and Ky on the rain ride

Tarpon Springs

I promised Ashli that I would post a few pics from our family outing on Columbus Day. I didn't have to go into the hospital that day (one benefit of doing a rotation at the VA), so we surveyed the map and decided to take a trip over to Tarpon Springs. It's about a 45 min trip from our place, over on the coast, not too far from New Port Richey. Tarpon Springs is a little Greek town that was established years ago.

Brief history of the town: Many Greek immigrants came here after 1905 to continue their traditional trade of sponge diving. Tarpon Springs is known as "the sponge capital of the world". All aspects of the sponge industry take place in Tarpon Springs, from the harvesting of the sponge, all the way to the auctions that are held weekly at the Sponge Docks for the wholesalers.

We had a great time exploring. We ate lunch at a little Greek restaurant, browsed the little sponge shops, took a boat ride and saw dolphins. It was a fun little day trip.

Kade and Ashli checking out the sponges.

The greek food was outstanding. Here Ashli attacks this huge gyro!

The four of us at Tarpon Springs

Kade and Ashli on the boat tour.

lost: reward

We are offering a $5 reward to anyone who provides information leading to the safe, prompt return of the Orange Truck.
-Last seen: sometime Tuesday afternoon, October 9, 2007
-Description: exactly what you would think an orange matchbox pickup truck would look like
-Goes by the name Orange Truck
-Often seen with Blue Motorcycle

Ever since we have been home from Utah, Ky has become extremely attached to a blue motorcycle and orange truck. Every time he wakes up, either in the morning or after a nap, the first thing he asks for is, "blue motorcycle, orange truck!" and I am supposed to know where they are. This is no easy task since he carries them around all day, and it's impossible to know where they got stashed last. Luckily, up until this morning, we have been able to find them both after only a few minutes of searching under couches, in toy boxes, etc. Unfortunately, this morning, the orange truck is lost! Someone please help us find it. I don't think Ky can function today until we find it.

why our trip was great, and why it's great to be home

Here (in no particular order, as my brain is still scrambled from traveling with two toddlers by myself yesterday) are some of the reasons why the boys and I had such a great trip out to Utah over the past three weeks:
-Seeing my parents and brothers

-Seeing my parents and brothers playing with my boys

-Not having to cook every night

-Eating my mom's yummy food

-Eating at Cafe Rio, Red Robin, Brick Oven, Pudding on the Rice, and Earnestly Chocolate ice cream from the BYU Creamery

-Eating fresh tomatoes, grapes, and plums from my parents' backyard

-Seeing friends from high school

-Playing on the nice, soft, Utah grass

-Shopping with my mom at IKEA, the Scrapbook Expo, and Gardner Village

-Being in the beautiful mountains

-Seeing all four of my grandparents

-Spending time with my best friend from college

-Seeing some dear friends from when Bart and I were first married

-Watching my dad spoil my boys with grapes

-Having a front porch to sit on and eat popcorn with Ky and Kade

-And, saving the best for last, spending a day with my brother-in-law and his wife! (see Bret, I told you I would save a special place on my blog just for you!)




Why it's great to be home:

-BART, BART, BART, BART!!

-Being able to wear shorts again

-I had more than 6 shirts to choose from when I got dressed this morning

-Being able to count down to when I get to see Bart again in hours, not weeks

-Not having to sleep on an air mattress anymore

-The boys can sleep in their own cribs

-Watching the boys' excitment as they were reunited with their toys that they hadn't played with for three weeks

-Coming home to a clean house, thanks Bart!

-The palm trees

-Staying up late with Bart, trying to remember every story from the past three week

-Just the comfort of being HOME, wherever that may be

Thanks everyone for helping us have a great trip! Thank you Bart for being so supportive, we sure missed you a lot.