Sugar Plum

 

My neighbors from Tennessee decided to go back home for the summer and we have missed them tons of bunches! Zekie still waves to their house everytime we drive by say "There's Chaffee's house!" Luckily before they left we had a little party and got some solid quality friend time in. Here's a pic of all the Mom's on the street...and Zekie and Jarren.

 

I took the previous picture so clearly I needed a picture with Erika too! Erika is a great listener, very dependable, generous, and really entertaining :) She is very passionate about life and always has a good story.

 

We call Erika "Sugar Plum" because she always calls the boys "sweetie" which really ticked "Zekie Bachman" off, who think everyone MUST call him ONLY by his true name. I tried to convince him him it was all just a game and when she said (in her sweet Southern accent) "HI SWEEEEEEEEEEETIE!" he was to respond with "HI Sugar Plum!" I don't know if that's really a southern thing to say, but it seemed fitting at the time. Well, happily Erika took to the game and made it all the more fun by mimicking Zekie and exclaiming with as much drama as she could muster "ME? I'm NOT a Sugar Plum!!" with a big smile on her face :) Zekie would then reply "Oh YES you ARE!!" And all was well in the world. Isaac also thoroughly enjoyed playing it up with Erika.

 

Caleb definitely picks favorites and Erika is one of them. He would regulary blow me off and crawl over to her and put his chubby little arms up to her to be held. I would always call Erika Caleb's "other mother", because she might as well have been considering how much they loved each other :)

Life with a 2 year old

 

It all started with a typical mom/son deal. "If you eat your watermelon for breakfast, I'll let you play in the car." Isaac responded vehemently with a "NO!" and pretended to hit me. To which I replied with a sincere heart "Fine. Whatever. But you can't play in the car UNTIL you eat your watermelon." Then I promptly left upstair to shower. That's when the revenge began. When I came downstairs the following is what I beheld: 1. the watermelon chunks strewn upon the floor 2. my large tumbler of water emptied upon the floor 3. the step stool had been drug out of the bathroom and placed at the bottom of the keys in an attempt to reach them 4.the other full watermelon had been rolled OFF of the counter and was cracked open oozing watermelon juice on my kitchen rug and finally 5. a red apple cinnamon candle had been smeared all over the gridle. This was the mess he was working on when I found him or I'm sure the destruction would have continued. Really. I mean WHAT kind of mother really thinks she can take a shower of all things with a 2 year old on the loose. Seriously. As you can see Squeaks had to help with the clean up. Oh the naughtiness!

Day Out With Thomas!

 

"I saw the biggest, Biggest, BIGGEST Thomas ever!!" Zekie proclaimed to EVERYONE who would listen for weeks after the event. We went to the Heber Valley Railway where they have a Day Out With Thomas in which they slap a huge Thomas the Tank Engine face on a real engine and the adventure begins. Zekie anticipated this day more than any other of his life. Christmas...his birthday...nothing compared to the excitement he had for Thomas day. We had to mark off every calendar day. Exclaim great enthusiam everytime we passed the billboard. AND tell every living soul that we were going to see the BIGGEST THOMAS EVER! Namaste Thomas day.

Mother's Day

 

I am a mother! My friend Camille called me a seasoned mother of 3 the other day and I later thought to myself "Just call me Mrs. Dash." Although I have these 3 boys, I don't know seasoned I really am. I think I've got the basic salt and pepper down pretty good but I have no idea when to use saffron. For mother's day Rob got me flowers, breakfast in bed, and a lovely card from him and the boys. At church we got delicious chocolates (that Zekie swiped 3/4 of) and all and it was happy, peaceful day. I am grateful I have the opportunity to be a mother. I love my boys dearly and know how lucky I am to be able to raise them. I'm also soo thankful to have an amazing mother who has taught me countless things. She is a fabulous Bre"nanny", generous, loving, patient and fun! I love her and admire her. Hooray for Mother's Day.

 

The Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point

Skiing at Park City

Two months ago (I know, I know, I'm trying to catch up)... my friend Andrea and I went skiing up at Park City. It was a blast!! I grew up skiing with my Dad a lot and now that I'm a mom and married to a golfer (not a skiier) I rarely go. Also I rarely see my great friend Andrea who I knew in my old ward when we were both freshly marrieds. Anyhoo, all of this rareness made for quite the special occasion and I loved every second of it. It was a beautiful day...very sunny and crystal clear. The picture of course doesn't do the view justice, but it was soo awe inspiring.

The skiing was fun, but the best part of the day was talking the day away with Andrea. She is one of those friends where even if you don't see them for a loooooooong time you can just pick up right where you left off and become instant friends again. It was a perfect day...other than the wicked sunburn I suffered with for the next week or so. Oh well...it just gave me an excuse to talk about my fun adventure when people asked about my bright red, peely face!

Whip it Good!

Oh the anticipation!

My turn!

How do I look?

At any given point during the day Isaac will decide he's low on sugar, run to the refridgerator, grab the whipcream can, bring it to me and say "One squirt please!" As I relent and am about to give a dallop he makes sure to add "BIG one!"