Potty Training Success!

POTTY TRAINING

Well I have been potty training Jay the past few weeks. He figured out #1 right off the bat. Thank goodness because I really hate cleaning pee up off the floor ... it makes me grumpy. lol. I only had to do it once! He very rarely has an accident and almost always lets me know he needs to go. He still gets wet at night a lot but just the fact that he's dry occasionally in the morning is a good sign for us. Until he starts having more dry nights, we are putting a diaper on him just for bedtime. Like I said I really hate cleaning up pee messes. lol. 

Now #2 on the other hand has proved to be a challenge. It took a week and a half before we had any success at all. He'd try to go on the toilet a few times and then go hide somewhere and go in his pants. The good news was he was trying... just took him a while to figure it out. I was just glad he wasn't holding it for days which is what both girls did while I was trying to train them. That never ends well. lol. 

We bought him a toy train (his favorite) and told him he'd get it if he pooped in the toilet. He has only had one accident since then, and it's almost been a week. He loves his train so much that he has to sleep with it too. It's definitely proving to be great motivation for him.

All in all I think this has by far been my easiest potty training experience. He picked up on everything so quickly. YAY! Who knew potty training success could be so exciting??? haha.

ZOO

The otters were out! The kids love the otters! They kept telling me to take a picture of them. Apparently life isn't normal without my phone out snapping pictures. haha.

 REED'S DAIRY

SUMMER MOVIE: BOX TROLLS

We were the only ones in the theater! A couple of people snuck in after it started, but it was a little strange to have the whole place to ourselves. haha.

 DATE NIGHT
Ty buttered me up by taking me to my favorite place for dinner and then told me he really wanted to go shooting with me. It was 90 degrees outside and I had been out with the kids all day, so I didn't want to be out in it again. lol. But I love him and I want him to do things he enjoys doing, so I agreed. It was a nice drive into the hills in the air conditioned car! ;-) He actually had a hard time finding the place he was looking for, so I was hoping it was just going to end up being a drive through the countryside. Haha. I wish.
Well he found a place and pulled off. As soon as we got out the flies started to swarm. Seriously. It must be my shampoo or something because I couldn't get them to leave me alone. After we left Ty agreed that the flies were following me around. He said when he'd move away from me they wouldn't bother him as much!!!!! Gah!!! When I put the ear muffs on I couldn't hear the flies anymore so they didn't bother me as much. haha. I watched Ty shoot for a while. It was his first time shooting with his new scope so it took him a minute to get it aligned.
Then he turned and told me it was my turn! I have never shot a gun before in my life. Not even a bb gun! I'm not sure why because both my brothers had bb guns, and shot guns, and my dad even has an elephant gun! It's not like there weren't guns at my disposal. I've just never had the desire I guess. I used to see the bruises they'd come home with and didn't want any part of it.
After watching Ty shoot a few times, I had decided to continue my streak. The gun was VERY LOUD and kicked back more than I liked. I just knew I'd hurt myself somehow. Well Ty wasn't taking no for an answer. Seriously I was petrified. I lifted the gun to the target and I still couldn't do it. I finally had Ty stand right behind me. It helped me feel safer. lol. I shot it ... and missed of course... but it wasn't QUITE as bad as I expected. So I of course can't stop there and decided to try again. At which point the gun slipped off my shoulder and hit my arm as a shot. YOUCH! It hurt the rest of the night but thankfully didn't hurt at all the next morning. Ty on the other hand woke with a bruise on his shoulder. Seriously ... boys and their toys... I dunno...

COUSINS
Crystal and Lily got to play with their cousin Elli this week! They live in Michigan so we don't see them often anymore. The girls were so excited to see her again!

 LEO'S PLACE PARTY
Crystal and Lily were invited to a friend's party at Leo's Place! The party was right before one of their Tball games so we weren't able to stay very long, but they got to see her open the present they brought for her and play for a few minutes! The birthday girl has an older sister Crystal's age who Crystal just adores! She was glad she could play with her for a bit before we left!

 Crystal, Lily, and birthday girl's sister!

 Crystal, Lily, and the birthday girl! (and Jay of course... photo bomb...haha)

Father's Day and Summer Fun!

WATER FUN

Tuesday we went to the Iona Splash Pad with cousins! It's just a small splash pad, but the kids still really enjoyed it, and it wasn't overly crowded! It did start to get really busy as the afternoon wore on but it wasn't too bad. Someone was there with their pet bunny also. The kids played with it as much as they did in the splash pad! Haha! Now the girls seem to think we need a pet bunny... I on the other hand think we have plenty of pets. haha.

After we came home and finished our yard work, we decided we hadn't had enough water yet. So I pulled out a Slip N Slide that I had found on sale for $5 at Toysrus. It quickly became clear to me that my children had never seen such a contraption and didn't know what to do with it! HOW SAD!?!?! lol. I really did try to explain to them how it worked, but I still couldn't get them to slide on their chest and would only go a foot before stopping. I decided I was going to have to SHOW them how it was done. I did briefly think about putting a swimsuit on first, but that seemed like too much work, and I was really hot anyway so I just dove in. Well, first and foremost it was tons of fun and I did do it several more times ... just for demonstration purposes of course. But I quickly regretted doing it fully clothed (just as I had regretted the pool the week before...lol). Second, it only helped a little... they still won't do it on their chests the right way, but they were getting farther down the slide. Third, I think I slid better with this extra 'adult' weight than I did as a kid. Haha. I was sliding PAST the end of the slide and into the grass! And last but not least, there's a reason for the warning on the box that says "not for adults may cause injury." No, I did not get injured per se and felt fine the rest of the day, but I HURT so bad when I woke up the next morning. lol. My stomach muscles were on fire for DAYS! Haha. Lesson learned ... I at least need to stretch first next time. ;-) Seriously though! When did I get old?!?!?!? Gah!

 SUMMER MOVIE: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
The dollar theater here has a summer movie matinee program. It came to $2 per movie for all 4 of us! A great deal and wonderful entertainment! Even Jay sat pretty well through the entire movie! Of course this one was about dragons, so it kept his attention for the most part. haha. Hoping the other movies go just as well!

FRIDAY FIELD TRIP

We had a little field trip to the little sand dunes in Idaho Falls Friday. They WIND was blowing so hard though that it wasn't a lot of fun... well not for the adults anyway. The kids didn't seem to mind too much. lol. We only stuck around for about 15 minutes because wind was kicking up too much sand for the little ones. We will have to try it again another day.

Stupid finger! Gah!

 SATURDAY HAPPENINGS
We went to a stake activity tonight. The kids had a ton of fun! There was a bouncy house and snow cones and cotton candy!!!!! The line for food was LITERALLY an hour long so we didn't stick around for dinner, but the kids really enjoyed playing for a bit! And Crystal got to play with a friend from school too!
After the activity, we went to the drive in with my whole family! I love the drive in, and I'm so glad I can share this childhood memory with my children!!!! I worry every year that they won't open, but they keep making it happen! We will enjoy it while we can!!!!

FATHER'S DAY

I think Daddy's Day went pretty well. Church was too early for breakfast in bed (we were up too late the night before as well). But the girls made 'Dad in a Bow Tie' paper plates in Sharing time today. They were so adorable! He got himself his Father's day gift (a knock off GoPro... pretty cool actually) My mom also had leftovers of the cute gifts she made for the men in their ward (she's relief society president so she does stuff like that ;-)). My parents also made awesome t-shirts for all the guys in the family. They were really cute. My Dad's says "Official Head Princess Protector" and my brother's (who has 2 girls) and Ty's both say "Official Princess Protector" and my older brother's (3 boys) says "Official Trainer of Princess Protectors." I wish I had gotten a picture of all of them wearing them but I didn't think about it! We ate lots of food and visited both families. All in all I think the day went well! 

I'm so thankful for Ty. He is such a patient and loving Daddy to all of our children! He always takes extra time at night to 'give them stretches' as they call it and cuddle with them before bed. He works hard to provide for us, so that I can stay home with them. And I'm also very grateful that he lives worthy to hold the Priesthood and for blessings we've received from having it in our home.

RANDOM PICTURES

Lily sitting next to a blossoming lily. She loves that there is a flower named after her! ;-) 

T-BALL BEGINS

T-BALL

The girls had their first t-ball games this week! They both did great! Just need to work on remembering to play the game instead of play in the dirt, and they'll be set! lol! But honestly they are learning the game and most of all having fun with friends! Can't get better than that!

ZOO AGAIN
There are probably going to be a lot of zoo pictures this summer. We have a membership, so we'll be hitting up the zoo at least once a week I'm sure! lol! Don't worry I'm sure I'll get tired of taking them eventually ... in fact I kind of already am. Haha. The penguins were making quite a ruckus and guarding their little dens (with a penguin inside). Not sure if it's mating season or what but it was a little odd. We also happened upon the lions while the daddy lion was enjoying the momma lion a little too much.... don't worry I didn't take a picture of that. lol.
The kids really love the goat petting area. They would stay there for hours I think if us moms had the patience for it. lol.  We also saw the baby lemurs again. They have grown twice the size since the last time we were there and were no longer just clinging to Momma's back. They were jumping and swinging around like crazy!
After the zoo we stayed at the park and had a picnic! The toys were in the sun and too hot to play on but the sprinkler was running so the kids played in the sprinkler for a while before we left! I'm so grateful my kids are able to do so much with their cousins now that we live closer again! It's been so much fun!

THE YARD AND THE POOL
Well Tuesdays and Fridays are my yard work days. So after the zoo, we came home, put Jay down for a nap, and headed back outside. Crystal always helps out by scooping up dog poop, and Lily helps by getting all the toys off the back lawn while I mow the front lawn. When they were finished with their work, they jumped in the pool while I finished mowing the lawn.
I'm still struggling with getting the massive amounts of weeds out and grass to grow back in to the yard from pour care it had the past 3 years, so I attempted to loosen up the dirt in the grass with a metal rake (front and back) and spread grass seed. It was a ton of work and very warm outside. Oy. I also spread some fertilizer (I'm desperate and just attempting anything I can think of at this point. lol).
As a child I had a wonderful lawn to play in with thick grass that was easy to walk in with bare feet! I want my children to be able to have the same experience, but am currently failing miserably! Haha! The grass seed doesn't seem to be taking ... even in the bald spots in the yard! BUT I do have to say that the yard looks insurmountably better than it did a few months ago. I'll have to do a before and after picture soon.
Anyway my purpose in sharing this story was that by the time I was finished and finally had the water going on the lawn. I was dying of heat... and was also pretty wet from getting the sprinklers in the right place anyway.
Crystal kept jokingly telling me to cool off in the pool while I was still getting work done, so after I finished everything, I just ran and jumped in the pool with them ... clothes and all (I'm just thankful there was nothing important in my pockets because I didn't think to check them first. lol).
They enjoyed my company so much that I of course decided to let the kitchen wait another day (it supposed to be my next project that day) and played in the pool with them for a while...

MOM TAKE MY PICTURE

How can I say no when my daughter comes up to me and says, "Mom, take my picture!" Crystal has been doing that to me a lot lately. I think its adorable. Haha. When we're out and about or just at home playing, she'll stop, pose/stand next to something picture worthy, and ask me to take her picture. I love this girl so much! And though I LOVE seeing her grow into the little lady she's becoming, a part of me wants it all to slow down so I can savor it just a little longer! I guess that's what pictures are for! 

 

SUNDAY WITH FAMILY

Playing with cousins in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard is a favorite Sunday past time! I'd also like to note the thick luscious barefoot worthy grass... I WANT IT... haha.