Momma Said There'd Be Days Like This

I am having one of those days.

I didn't sleep well at all last night and have basically been awake since 5 am.

The boys didn't sleep past 6:30 am either.

Ephraim peed out of his diaper this morning, so I got to clean that up.

Then I ended up changing three diapers within a half hour or so. We are having a poopy day.

I changed Ephraim's clothes twice before 10 am (and not because of the diapers).

Our plans for fun this morning fell through... so I had to figure out what else we were going to do.

Certain small people are feeling cranky and Joe is too busy at work this time of year to chat with me.

Nothing incredibly horrible has happened today. Just a bunch of little things, and for no apparent reason I am feeling overly-emotional.

I need a vacation.

Me. the beach. the shuuush of the water. a tall, cool beverage. peace and quiet.

Oh well. This is about as close as I'm gonna get:

Nevermind... I forgot we already emptied the pool.
Guess we'll go have a picnic at the park.

Thanks for letting me whine.

Praying Mantis

Not only did we have a huge snail visit us this year, more recently we had another visitor to our backyard. While I was at work last night Joe and Jacob spotted a praying mantis while doing yard work. Joe picked it up on his spade and transferred it to a mason jar so that I could see it and take photographs of it today.

Jacob was absolutely fascinated with the praying mantis. Of course he wanted to keep it as a pet, but I told him we would let it live in our garden. So we got ready to let him go, but first we had to watch him for a while.

I opened the lid of the jar expecting the mantis to make a run for it. I was going to try to get as many pictures as I could before he scrambled off the picnic table. Surprisingly he just sat there at the edge of the jar. It was almost like he was asleep.

I kept getting closer and closer until I got to the point that my camera lens would no longer focus. But I suppose I got close enough.


I wish I had a macro lens... but I have to say that my camera does a pretty nice job regardless!

The mantis never did consent to leave the jar. So I took the jar to the garden and ended up tipping him out, and we haven't seen him since.

Oh Deer! Look Who Followed Me Home From Wyoming

A few days ago we were working on returning to our normal routine after getting back from our trip to Wyoming. Traveling gets my boys all out of whack, and it takes them a couple of days to return to their normal, cheerful, less-troublesome selves.

Anyway, the boys were eating breakfast and I walked past the living room to return a toy to the boys room. As I walked past our big front window I saw something that caused me to do a double take.

What the?!?!
There was a DEER standing in the street, just staring at me.

After I got over the initial shock of seeing a deer in the middle of the city, I ran to grab my camera. I stealthily opened the front door, imagining the perfect shot I was going to get. Just then one of my neighbors started his rather noisy truck. Dang it!

Of course the buck took off. I was determined to get a good shot of him, so I followed him discreetly (by that I mean that I ran down the street after him, barefoot and in my pajamas).

This is a rather nice shot of his rear end, don't you think? I love my zoom lens!

I ended up following this buck about three blocks before I gave up the chase and my hopes of a perfect photo. I didn't give up because my feet hurt... actually, I was more than a little concerned that my boys might be tearing up the house while I was gone!

After all, there is more than one kind of wild animal roaming around my neighborhood!

Wyoming visit -Trip to Cottonwood lake

On our last evening in Wyoming, we decided to try to get Grandma out of the house for a little while. She had basically been stuck in the house since her surgery, which is enough to drive anyone crazy.

So with Grandpa's help, Grandma managed to get down the stairs and into the suburban. We were all so proud of her! We took a little drive up the canyon to go to Cottonwood Lake. It was a beautiful evening and I got lovely pictures of the river, flowers, local wildlife, and of course the lake.

On the way to the lake we passed a lot of gorgeous scenery:

We also saw a rock chuck, a deer, and some rabbits. The boys were having a great time looking out the window. I even managed some nice flower shots out the window:

When we got to the lake we let the boys get out of the suburban. Of course the first thing they wanted to do was get close to the water.

I tried to tell them to not get too wet, and they both did a pretty good job. Of course Ephraim was a bit harder to convince.

I told my Dad that he should show the boys how he could skip rocks. So they looked around for some good ones...

I have never taken pictures of rocks skipping on water, so of course I had to give it a try. I got some really great photos. If you enlarge some of these you can see the ripples on the water, and even the rock in mid-air.

Two skips with the rock in mid-air.

Three skips, can you see the rock?

Grandpa Heiner is pretty good at skipping rocks, huh?

I was pretty impressed with some pictures that Dad showed me that he took of the lake. He wanted to give me the chance to take a nice picture too. Unfortunately there was a big log that had gone over the falls. Dad even tried to remove it for me.

The log wouldn't budge, but I think the picture turned out nice anyway.

I also took some fun photos of the wildflowers that were up around the lake. Here is one that I thought was interesting because there were bugs in the flowers!

We had a great time going to the lake. We wore Grandma out a little bit, but it was nice to get out of the house and see something different.

This morning (Tuesday) I started packing everything up to head home. The worst part of this afternoon was getting ready to leave. I had to pack up the car, which is a job Joe usually takes care of. He is much better at fitting everything back into the car!

The boys and I survived the drive home, although we did have to stop once on the side of the road for an emergency potty break. At least it is not too much of a problem with boys!

We also stopped to take some pictures of the art work a farmer has displayed in one of his fields. We always watch for these critters on the way to Grandpa and Grandma's house because then they know getting close.

Don't you just love the shovels that make up the dragon's ears and tail? Nice paint job too!


I think this road runner is made out of some aluminum siding/roofing... and I don't even know what else. Pretty creative, don't you think?

I don't plan on doing a solo road trip with the boys for a while! I really missed having adult companionship in the car... not to mention another pair of hands. It is great to be home!

Tour de Wyoming

Friday morning I took my first road trip alone with the boys. We headed up to Star Valley, Wyoming. My mom recently had double knee replacement surgery and she needed a little help while she recovered. So we left Joe at home, and the boys and I hit the road.

The drive took about 4 hours, and the boys did surprisingly well. Especially since I couldn't pay that much attention to them. One of my friends loaned me a DVD player, which Jacob absolutely loved. I loved it too because at least it kept one of my boys occupied (ie. not whining). Ephraim was a bit more bored and impatient with the whole trip, but what can you expect from a one year old?

We made it there and Jeanette helped me get everything unpacked. Then the Kirkham's left and I took over. Mom had various pills to take, a couple of shots each day, and tons of time to spend in this machine that stretched out her knees. None of it was very fun for her, but Mom got a little better each day we were there.

The boys loved hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma. Here is a photo of Ephraim playing around.


I kept pretty busy. I cooked meals, vacuumed, cleaned, did laundry, and tried to keep my boys out of trouble. Mom was doing amazingly well, and I am really proud of her. I also hope I never need to have my knees replaced because it is no fun at all!

I left Joe at home, but I brought my bike to Wyoming with me. After the boys went to bed in the evenings and Dad was home, I got to go on some bike rides.

One of my goals was to ride from my parents house up to the top of what the locals call "South End". It is the mountain pass you have to go over to get out of Star Valley traveling south.

I wasn't sure if I could do it because it is pretty steep.

Yep... you read that sign right. I went up about a 7 percent grade for three miles! No idea how steep 7 percent grade really is? It looks something like this:

My neat-o GPS said that I did about 929 feet of climbing in the 9 miles or so from my parents house. It took me a little over 50 minutes to get to the top... but the view up there was lovely.

It was actually getting pretty dark by the time I got to the top. I took the boys for a short ride the next day to take these photos. Jacob thought it was fun to get out of the car and look around. We also got to take a little outdoor potty break because as you can see from this picture, Jacob needed to go.


Luckily it only took me about 22 minutes to get back to my parents house the evening I rode up south end because it was all downhill and I was going fast! Like over 35 miles per hour fast!

Some people don't think cycling is a very exciting sport, but as Joe would say "Let's throw you out of your car at over 25 miles per hour in your underwear and see how boring you think that is!

Auntie Em and the Dinosaur Museum

While Emily was visiting she spent most of the day on Tuesday (July 14th) with us. We decided to go to the dinosaur museum with the boys.

Before we left that morning my friend Julie came and gave me a haircut. I got my hair cut shorter for all the warm weather we have been having. Plus it is just easier to do. I think it turned out pretty well and I have had a lot of compliments about it.

Anyway, on to the dinosaurs!

Jacob had a great time at the museum. I explained to him beforehand that we would be seeing just dinosaur bones. I didn't want him to be disappointed that we didn't see live dinosaurs (what else would you expect to see at a dinosaur museum?)!

I actually forgot my camera, so I had to borrow Auntie Em's. We brought both of the strollers so that Emily got to push around Jacob and I got to push around Ephraim. The double stroller is nice, but it doesn't actually fit in the trunk of my car, but this arrangement worked out just fine.

We walked around the museum, with Jacob getting out frequently to look at the exhibits. Here is a picture of Jacob sitting by some cool bones (I'm pretty sure it's a dimetrodon)

Neither of the boys thought that the dinosaur bones at the museum were scary at all. Especially after Mommy showed them how brave she is.

We had a great time with the hands-on exhibits... even the ones that might not have been meant to be hands-on!

Here is Ephraim sitting on top of the lower leg bone of a big dinosaur (I think it was a Supersaurus). In our defense, there wasn't a sign anywhere near here that said to keep off the display (which is good because we sure didn't keep off... we had a lot of fun on it as a matter of fact!)

The other part of the museum that Jacob really enjoyed was the "Erosion Table". He got to play with sand, water, and plastic dinosaurs and trees. Really what more could a little boy want? Auntie Em and Mommy even got in on the action.

Poor Ephraim on the other hand did not.

Are you sure I can't play in the sand? I promise I won't eat it (this time)!

I swear my hands smelled like chlorine the rest of the day from playing in the erosion table. The not-so-fun consequence of playing in the water was that Jacob had a bit of an accident. He either spilled water on his pants, or he peed in them a little (I'm pretty sure it was the latter). Of course the museum is a bit dark, so we only discovered this fact after we tried to sit Jacob on Emily's lap for a picture a little later!

Not this picture.

We had a great time at the museum. I even got Emily to take my picture by my favorite dinosaur again, this time with Ephraim. (Good thing we took a picture, because now I can tell you that this dino is an Archelon Ischyros.)

In August they are going to be have $2 Tuesdays at Thanksgiving point, so we'll probably go to the Dinosaur Museum again, but it won't be nearly as much fun without Auntie Em!

Auntie Em and the wheelbarrow

This week Auntie Em came to visit us with her friend Katie. They stopped by on Sunday and were around until Wednesday morning. They stayed at our house a couple of nights while Katie filled out her paperwork at Alpine School District and looked for housing.

Even though Emily was in and out a bit, we had fun with her while she was at our house. The boys thought she was a ton of fun. Jacob and Ephraim both had a great time with Auntie Em, as you can see from the pictures below.

Aunt Emily showed Jacob how to do the "wheelbarrow". At one point Jacob's arms gave out and Emily said something like, "Oh no! A flat tire!". Now when Jacob asks me to play wheelbarrow with him he tells me to say the same thing! What a silly.

After a while Emily told Jacob it was her turn. So they gave it a try, but apparently Jacob is not strong enough just yet.

Especially not with Ephraim "helping" out.

I was cracking up just watching all the fun and taking pictures. Did you notice the flesh-colored blob in the bottom right-hand side of some of the pictures? Can you guess what it is?

Nope... it's not my finger. Not my knee or my foot or my toe!

It is Joe. Apparently he was all worn out from a busy day at work. I am amazed at how he can doze off with all the noise and activity! He probably doesn't even know that I took a picture of him too.

Isn't he cute?

Welcome to Toddlerhood!

Today is the day.

My baby is definitely not an infant anymore. Today we are making the move from two daily naps to just one. So long morning nap! I will miss you terribly!

For the past couple of weeks we have been having a struggle with our nap schedule. Ephraim would take his regular morning and afternoon naps one day.. and all was right with the world. Then the next day he would take a long morning nap and refuse to take an afternoon nap, much to my frustration. The next day everything seemed to be back to normal and he would take two naps again. And on and on it went!

Then we got to the point that on the days he took two naps, Ephraim would not go to bed at his regular bedtime. Instead he would just jabber to himself in his crib for nearly an hour! Needless to say, I was about to go bonkers!

So although I will miss the two naps, I am thinking that one long nap will be preferable to the chaos we have been putting up with! It's nap time right now and we are hoping for a good one. Wish us luck!

Wipe-Out!

Today I put Ephraim down for a nap, and he protested about it for a couple of minutes. No big deal, it happens rather frequently, right?

After a few minutes his room was really quiet, so I assumed he had gone to sleep right away.

When Ephraim woke up a few hours later I sent Jacob in to say "Hi" to him while I finished working on something. Jacob walked in Ephraim's room and immediately shouted, "Mommy! Come look what Ephraim did!". Well, you know that's not a good thing!

Apparently Ephraim did go to sleep, but not right away. First he had reach through the crib bars to empty the contents of the baby wipe container... directly into his bed. Did I mention that I had just filled up the container of wipes?

I don't know how he managed to fall asleep even though his entire bed was soaked! He was more than a little soggy himself!

I guess I learned my lesson... never leave the wipes on the bench next to the crib!

Friends, Fun and Fireworks

This year we had a pretty good Fourth of July. Joe had Friday the third off, so we got to spend some time home together, which was nice. We did some shopping and got ready for the fourth. Originally we were going to have the old Elder's Quorum Presidency over for dinner, but due to illness and whatnot, only the Davis family was going to be coming over. (Did I even mention that Joe got released and is now the Sunday School President?)

On the morning of the Fourth we found a little visitor in our yard. Actually, Joe spotted this not-so-little guy hanging out on our garage door.

We've never seen snails around our house, so of course we had to play with him for a while and take his picture. Jacob was absolutely fascinated by him and asked if we could keep him for a pet.

The idea of a pet snail was not too appealing to me. Besides, I don't really know what they eat or what happens to them in the winter anyway. We went next door to show him to Will and then we released him back into the "wild"... a good distance from our house.

Then halfway through the day we had a brainstorm and realized that the Websters were home and didn't appear to have plans. So we invited them over for dinner too. We really should invite people over more often because we have such a great time whenever we get together with friends.

We had good food, played games and the boys got nice and messy in the sand box. Nathan Davis actually poured sand on Ephraim and Jacob's heads at some point because he is not versed in our sandbox rules as of yet. It was kind of funny, and I ended up rinsing the boys off before bed.

Of course after dinner when it got dark we headed off to our local fireworks show.

I have always wanted to take pictures of fireworks, but up until now I have never had a camera that could do a decent job of it. Now that I have my Canon XSi, I was determined to try it this year.

So Joe and I did some research on what settings to use, etc. Then we went to our chosen location, set up our tripod and started shooting. I think we ended up with some really nice photos!

The hardest part was making sure the fireworks were in focus, and making sure the tripod was pointed in the right place.

Timing the shots was also interesting because we were doing approximately 5 second exposures. So we never knew quite what would be in the picture until they were already taken.

It was a ton of fun though, and I loved the colors!

Jacob and Ephraim had a great time watching the show, sitting with the Websters and our other neighbors the Lees. They even gave Jacob a glowstick, which he thought was awesome.

After the show we went straight home and put the boys to bed. Luckily it seems that everyone in our neighborhood got their fireworks done the night before, so we got to go right to sleep.


I am not usually a fan of fireworks. I like the bigger shows put on by cities and towns, but not really the fireworks that go on in the neighborhoods. They seem more noisy and annoying than exciting to me.

But I have to say that I enjoyed the fireworks this year more than most... and I have something to show for it.

The Day the Binky Disappeared Forever

Earlier this month I took the boys to their awesome pediatrician for their well-visits (Jacob for his three year and Ephraim for his 15 month). Both boys were growing well and doing just fine. The shots were not fun, but we got them over with and everyone survived.

What surprised me the most was when the doctor asked me, "Is he a binky boy?" about Ephraim. I hadn't thought about it too much, but Ephraim really does like his binky. He always had it at naps and bedtime, and randomly throughout the day you would find him with a binky in his mouth.

The doctor told me that I needed to restrict the binky and think about getting rid of it because it was starting to affect Ephraim's front teeth. So I told Joe about it, and we have only let Eli have a binky when he is in his crib for the past month.

We took Jacob's binky away when he was 15 months old, so we figured Ephraim was about due. I don't think that children who can talk shouldn't have a plug in their mouth, you know? Last time Joe was the one who took the initiative and said, "No more binky" and Jacob basically went cold turkey, which worked for him.

Yesterday I told Joe that the same thing might have to happen again because it was hard for me to want to take the binky away. I liked the fact that I could put Ephraim to bed and he would basically lay there and be quiet, contentedly sucking on his bink.

So last night Daddy put Ephraim to bed-- without his binky.

Since I believe in consistency, once he took the binky away, it is just gone. So today I put Ephraim down for naps sans binky. I was dreading this day, but you know what? It wasn't that bad! Ephraim cried about it for a couple of minutes and then settled down and went to sleep.

So we are done! No more binkies-- hooray!
Thanks Joe for helping me out with this one. :o)