Late night party!

Last night, the boys were so crazy! They were running around the house full-speed trying to see who could yell the loudest. Then they started the nightly wrestling match. Then they splashed pretty much all of the water out of the bathtub. After all that, what better way to end the night than a dance party? Ethan knows how to turn on Zak's alarm clock radio, and then turn the volume up really loud (which always seems to surprise Zak the next morning when it is blaring at 5 am). So Ethan and Colby found some good tunes, and Colby found some nice sunglasses, and they danced and jumped on our bed. They got lots of energy out though so it was really easy to get them to sleep after their little party!

Sugar and spice and everything nice...

My neice Madison had a dance recital this last weekend. She was so cute. It was fun to see all the little girls in their little costumes. My favorite part about it, and this picture captures it pretty well, is that most of them are just up there doing their own thing during the whole dance. It is so fun to watch. All the girls are in little dresses and bows, and looking so perfect up there on stage, and where are my kids?? Ethan had already given up on the recital and was playing at the playground, and Colby found the dirt to play in. Such boys!

Quiet Time

Last Sunday in Sacrament meeting, we were having a really hard time keeping the kids quiet. We were doing the whole stand up, sit down, fight, fight, fight thing the whole time. First Zak took Colby out. Then he took Ethan out. Then he took them both out. We were sitting in front of the whole row of elderly people (you know what I am talking about--every ward has this row), and I felt terrible that we were being so distracting. It was not just us, the Bishop even stood up and addressed all the primary children and told them to remember where they were and that they needed to be reverent. Anyway, by the end of the meeting, I was feeling embarrassed that my kids were acting out so much, and I was frustrated, and I was dreading the nursery drop off...I was doing anything but looking at the positive here, when one of the ladies behind me leaned forward and said, "How nice to have a husband who will take the children out!" That was not the type of comment I was expecting. It made me stop and realize how much I take that, and other things for granted. I have been thinking about it all week. My kids are energetic, which can be frustrating at church or the grocery store or anywhere else that I am trying to keep them somewhat quiet, but with that energy comes so much fun and personality! I would not change it for the world. Also, although parenting can be a lot of work, I have such a good partner to help me out. He is not one of those dads that sits back and watches as the mom takes care of everything. Zak is always right there helping with whatever needs to be done. So even when things get crazy at church, I guess I need to realize that I am blessed to have such fun boys (even with the rowdiness) and such a great husband. I love all of my boys!

Colby's Favorites

Sorry, we still have an old-school camera so there is no sound to this video. But it is still cute, right?
Colby absolutely loves his doggy and his blanky. We always laugh at how he tickles his dog's nose and then snuggles up with it. He is also showing off his new favorite trick--blowing kisses.

Still summer...

Ethan and Colby are always wanting to play outside, but it is still just so darn hot! Today, we stripped off their shirts, put them in the shade, and gave them some Otter Pops. They were two happy kids! We are ready for summer to be over so we can actually enjoy our backyard again!

Why I love preschool

Where else would Ethan be able to make a Cat Clock? Yikes!!

Despite the sometimes scary artwork, I am loving him being in preschool. He loves all the games and songs and everything that he gets to do there. And it is nice to be able to spend some one-on-one time with Colby while Ethan is gone. I still just can't believe how old my boys are getting!

Labor Day

We had a fun Labor Day weekend. Our friends, the Maddox's, came down for a few days, and it was so good to catch up with them. Of course, anytime one of Zak's high school friends comes to visit, we seem to always get a whole crowd together. We didn't really plan anything too exciting, but we had fun just hanging out.

On Monday morning, while Zak was in the shower and I was talking on the phone (with Kerri--so I guess I can blame this on her!) Colby decided to help us get the floor clean. He found the dish soap under the sink, opened the lid, and held it upside down as he walked around the kitchen...through the dining room...down the hall...back to the kitchen...into the dining room again.... It was such a mess! Soap everywhere! I thought, okay, we'll just wipe up most of it with paper towels and then mop the floor to get whatever is left. That did not work! As soon as I started mopping, the mop and the bucket both got full of soap suds, and I was just spreading the mess around. You've got to love concentrated dish soap!

Finally we decided the only option was to pull in Zak's tile cleaning equipment so we could rinse and vacuum up the soapy mess. I was so glad he was able to do that! I could have been mopping for hours! Anyway, thanks to Colby, I got my tile "professionally" cleaned, for the third time in a month!