Answered Prayers

This has been a good week of answered prayers and family fun.
At least 6 months ago we realized we needed to make some changes with our life situation. It's time to stop just surviving and start living. Jake and I came to the conclusion that he needed to go back to school. This is not an easy decision, especially at this point in our lives. This is hard when you think of the two boys we need to take care of. Jake has a steady job but it's never quite enough.
The school we both felt Jake should apply for required an ACT. Jake didn't take this in high school so after 10 years of not studying these basic school skills he decided to undertake the test. It took a lot of faith, studying, and prayers. He went in this past June 12th and completed the test. He didn't think he did very well.
Thank you for praying for us as Jake undertook the ACT. He got much better scores than he had imagined. I know the Lord was helping him and answered your prayers on our behalf.
I just wanted to give a little blurb about how grateful I am for prayers. I have tried to be diligent about teaching the boys about praying. They are so cute and do so well. Kaleb knows how to fold his little hands and says "Amen" at the end. We just have to say, time to pray, or talk to Heavenly Father, and he pauses in what he's doing and folds his hands. We have been very good about nightly family prayers. I know praying has blessed us all in more little ways than I'm sure I notice. Every morning before we eat our breakfast we say a prayer to bless the day and keep us all safe. We are usually pretty good about remembering to pray before each meal in much the same fashion.
The boys, especially Xander, are at an age where they are very accident prone. Throughout the day the boys run and tumble, and swallow things, and generally act like little boys. I am grateful there have never been any serious accidents. Yesterday I had a moment that made me realize how grateful I am for the extra protection we have guiding us each day. I know we have guardian angels.
I was busy making bread while Xander played around in the kitchen. I was grabbing a 13X9 Pyrex dish of rolls out of the oven when it slipped out of my hands. As I tried to catch it I burned my wrist but it still ended up falling on Xander's head.
I of course first tried to call Jake but he was busy driving home. I then called a good friend in the ward to ask for help. She was able to calm me down and helped me take care of the baby. With ice wrapped in a dish towel I tied that on my arm. I tried (in vain) to hold an ice pack on Xander's head. He certainly didn't want anything to do with that. Isn't it funny how things always seem 500 times worse in the moment? After about 20 minutes of screaming Xander was babbling and giggling and chewing on the ice pack with only a swollen, slightly red bruise on his head.
I have about a golf ball sized burn on my wrist. As the night wound down I realized how much worse everything could have been.
Then today Xander tumbled off the end of the bed. Thankfully he only hit his eye on the dresser. Oh my dear clumsy boys.
I am so grateful for prayers that protect us throughout our day.
Through days that oftentimes go like this...
Kaleb decided to dump his spaghetti in his cup of water. And then got the idea to dump that back and forth between bowl and cup. It ended with me grabbing the whole chair, booster seat, kid and all, and throwing it in the bathtub.
Or perhaps a bit of this...
All our drawers have child locks on them. That has never slowed Kaleb down.
Or a day that ended like today...
Today we celebrated Kaleb's 2nd birthday (on Wednesday) at the beach. He loves anything to do with the beach, especially the water. Our good friends the Hamilton's were able to come with us. I am so grateful they came even though they hate the beach, well, mostly the sand, which is hard to avoid at the beach.
We got there at 11am but all the fire pits were already taken. We were able to use one that the people had been staking out since 6am - that's insane! We roasted hotdogs, and of course marshmallows for S'Mores. I remembered I still had my 35 mm film camera so I went out to buy film ($14 for a roll! - wohza) Now I have to wait for it to be developed. Psh, waiting, what is that!? We live in a day when everything and anything is instant. But, I did get a lot of pictures. Can't wait to see them and to post them hopefully sometime next week.
It was a good day playing in the sun. We weren't even two miles down the road before the boys were sound asleep.
When we got home we ordered pizza. Everyone took a bath. Then we sat down for family night. Pizza and a movie, and of course popcorn.
This has been a great weekend.

I love technology

I used to think it was annoying you couldn't buy a cell phone that only did one thing, call another phone, or receive calls.
Now I realize why I am grateful for cell phones. These pictures sure aren't the greatest but I am grateful to have them. And it's nice to be ready at a moments notice with a camera.
I found this one on Jake's phone.Kaleb had the best natural Mohawk! It's crazy how fast he has grown! I can't believe I have a 2 year old (almost).

I'm not sure if these pictures were this past week - if it was it was early in the week.
We were at the park. It was a fairly cool, cloudy, and breezy day. I would say low 60's. The sprinklers came on and before we could blink Kaleb was full out running into the sprinklers. He was playing games with them and just staying out of the direct wash. It was so funny to watch.

This is just the average day of hanging out.
All Xander wanted to do was eat the phone...or he's telling me off about something.
He still only has his two bottom teeth but has been teething for 6 months. This kid drools, a lot.

Jake's favorite computer game - WOW (World of Warcraft) is a family favorite. See, we spend time together as a family! :-)
Xander is growing so quickly. He still only crawls army style with his belly flat on the floor dragging himself along with his forearms. He is fast and it works for him. It sure doesn't work for the tummy portions of his shirts though. They are all so worn out and black.
He has been pulling himself up and taking a few uneasy steps along the couch. And a few goose steps as we hold on to his hands.
The other picture is Xander stuck under the table chair. I am mean and had to laugh at him before I rescued him. How did he get his head under there?












This past Friday we went out to eat for a special father's day dinner for Jake. He chose Famous Dave's Bar-B-Q. It's a good 30 or 40 min drive so when we got there and were told the wait would be at least 45 minutes there was nothing else to do but wait...I hate waiting.
It was worth it in the end. It really made the night long though. The boys were asleep before we got home.
Xander made sure Jake's rib bones were thoroughly cleaned off.

The next day, Saturday, was beach day. We plan on getting a lot of beach time in this summer. Both boys love it. Kaleb way more than Xander though. Kaleb loves the water most of all and really wants Jake to let go of him so he can dive right in. Xander really dislikes the ocean and wants to be as far away from the water as possible.
We met some members of the ward at the beach. There was a plan for a bonfire. We didn't realize they weren't starting that until it got dark. We didn't have dinner for the kids so we had to pack up and leave before the real fun began. But, the boys still loved it. And loved being by a firepit so they could play with all the bits of charcoal.
Being in CA there is a lot of movie advertising. Practically every building is used with huge building sized posters, billboards dot the streets, and the advertising even adorns the garbage cans.
This is the first time I've ever seen Kaleb acknowledge a movie character. He doesn't watch movies that often! He was so excited when he spotted Woody on the garbage can next to us. After staring at it for a while he resorted to throwing sand at the can.
A very happy Father's Day to all the special men in my life.
My own father - thank you for sticking it out to kid number 8 - I love being a part of the family! My father is an amazing man. He is very quiet and may seem scary at times but he has a sense of humor that pops out and surprises you. He has taught me so much. I know I wouldn't be half of who I am if it weren't for his loving patience, guidance, and example. He was an entrepreneur as long as I can remember. It started with the pool business. I remember going to work with my dad sometimes. I would sit behind his desk with a bag of toys, at times I would strip down to my underwear and get to test out the spas in the showroom. My dad has always worked so hard to raise and support our large family. He has truly taught me the importance of hard work and working for the things you want in life.
My Dad has taught me a love for reading and learning. He taught me a love for the outdoors and getting dirty. He has taught me that the greatest thing a (woman) man can do for their children is to love their (father) mother. I am grateful for my mom and dads example of a perfect marriage. I know things weren't always perfect, but you made it seem that way. I'm sure things weren't always as easy going as it seemed but I am grateful for their example of how to stick it out and work through the tough times.
My dad has especially taught me a love for this gospel. I will forever be grateful I was raised in the church. I am grateful for both my parents who guided me until I could make it on my own.
Thank you dad for all you have done!
Jake - I will never fully understand why I am so blessed to be your wife. Sometimes I think, wow, what did I do to deserve this amazing man? The one who is willing to stand by me for eternity. That's a long time to be stuck with me!
I am so grateful for all your hard work. Thank you for allowing me to be a stay at home mom. Thank you for always taking care of our needs and supporting us. I am so grateful to have you by my side as we travel these roads of life together. Thank you for your testimony of this gospel. It is an anchor in my life and such a blessing to have such a strong support system.
I know the greatest gift I have ever given Kaleb and Alexander was given to them before they were even born. I chose Jake to be their dad.
Thank you for being such an amazing dad. Thank you for all your hands on help. I love the boys excited laughter when you walk in the room. As they throw their arms in the air looking for one more tickle. Today as you were skipping down the road with Xander perched up on your shoulders, I couldn't help but smile. Oh we are so blessed. I love you!

Post 101!

Lets celebrate with 101 pictures!
I'm sorry this blog has pretty much died this past month.
Our camera is permanently dead. I believe there is some sand in there somewhere. I've been using Jake's cell phone, but, I just don't take pictures as much with that. And Blog's aren't any fun without the pictures to go with the stories. I went through both our phones and had fun seeing the progression of pictures and videos. My how life has changed in just two years. It's hard to fathom sometimes.It's hard to believe I've kept this Blog going for 2 years. What a great journal it will be for my future generation.
Here's a few, okay, a lot, of pictures from the cell phones
We'll start out with some lovely ones of me. This is when I was in labor with Xander and waiting for him to come. I ended up on oxygen because baby wasn't doing so well. And somewhere along the line I ended up with a lovely blue cap.









This is in UT when Xander was about 2 months oldNot sure when this one was. Xander looks so bald! When I first saw it I thought it was his cousin Jessee. The facial features, everything.

Kaleb at the park - he looks so young!

I absolutely LOVE this picture. Both the faces are priceless but especially Xander's.






















































Our building water was off one day. They had opened a pipe out in the parking lot to let it all drain out. We were outside for a bit and Kaleb wanted to play in the water so bad. I finally gave up and let him. What harm could it do? Let him be a little boy and have fun.
This is our trip to Lake Arrowhead for Jake's birthday this past May:

My sister Shawna and her husband Matt came for a business trip but we managed to see them for a little bit and have some fun. The outdoor pool at their hotel. It was so cold, the boys didn't seem to mind one bit. It was hard to get Kaleb out of the water (it always is)

Chinatown - Memorial Day weekend













Memorial Day Beach Trip:



























































Lastly, a few weekends ago we took the boys up to Universal Studio so Kaleb could play in the fountain that shoots out of the ground. He was running as fast as he could and laughing so hard. I especially loved it when he would bend down to stick a finger or look in one of the fountain holes then water would peg him right in the face - he thought it was hilarious...oh our little water boy.













Wow, posting all the pictures and organizing them took a long time.
The sad part about cell phone pictures is I can't print them. Well, I could, but the quality would be horrible at normal size, I guess I could do it wallet size but then I have to pay a lot more and have 4 of each picture when I only want one.

Jake took the ACT this past Saturday. We'll find out the results in 3 weeks - we both are so excited, and nervous. He doesn't think he did very well. We'll see. It will be nice to finally get this officially out of the way so we can start making future plans.

Maybe I'll tune in next week with more fun.
Without a camera I don't see this blog being quit as regular as I had managed. Also, our life is pretty same ol' and dull right now so I really don't have much to write about anyway.