June

June seems to be Olive's month, because she sure dominates the pictures!

She had me laughing during this bath! Oink oink!

If there's one thing she loves, it's being a girly girl. I've been told by her nursery leaders that whomever is wearing high heels and a necklace, has to give them up to Olive. And she'll shuffle around in those heels the whole 2 hours! The other day, Travis offered to paint her toenails and she was so grateful, she continuously laid her head on his arm and said, "wuv you" the whole time he painted.

She's also very into her pockets. She was trailing me at Albertsons like this. Every time I take her, people comment on how cute she is. What can I say.. I agree! :)

My guilty pleasure.

Why can't I stop watching this ridiculous show?!? 

My hair was getting very lengthy. I had a friend do an experimental chop of 5 or 6 inches. It didn't phase me. Good sign! I was ready for this. So I made an appt. at a salon here to take off a few more inches and do some color. I really liked it! It felt so good to be dark again! Except she messed up a highlight in front with a dark streak. So I went back in for her to fix it and she spent 2 hours doing an ombre! I was so mad! I don't even understand how it happened. I told her I was happy with the color. SIGH. So it will be Shelley to the rescue when I go home next. Plus, I think I want to go even a bit shorter! Eeek. Fingers crossed!

I'm obsessed with pig tails and denim!!

It was a slow, summer day. So I agreed to let the boys do a science experiment. I don't even know what the point of this was, but Collin said he did it at June Camp. They just dropped food coloring on top of a layer of shaving cream in a jar full of water. They seriously used an entire container of coloring. Whatever keeps 'em happy!!

Then we made homemade ice cream in a bag. Shake shake shake! It actually worked pretty good but my floor was covered in salt water drippings afterward. We all make sacrifices. ;)

Baseball has been the highlight of this kid's life. And I'll admit, it's been a fun, family outing each week. He's actually pretty good too. It's t-ball but they give them 3 or 4 pitches before using the tee. He almost always gets a solid hit off the pitch. Just don't ask him to pay attention in the outfield or as catcher. Drawing in the dirt is way more fun. 

Look who made the paper! They're such a big deal. ;)

Jimmy and Rachelle passed through one Saturday, on their way to North Dakota! I made breakfast and the kids had fun playing for a couple of hours before they had to head out. I think Jimmy got a good nap too while Rachelle and I got caught up. I was so glad that they called and stopped by! I know if it had been me, I would have been afraid I was a bother and probably not called. It was a good example to me that family is happy to see family! I was so glad they came!! Travis was actually on his way back from Mesa and missed them by 10 minutes. He had gone to check out a practice.

Every time I give them a "tea party" I wonder why I do it! Such a mess and sugar high. Travis brought back Delightful Donuts from Mesa so it was the perfect tea party fare. 

Olive knew exactly what to do with that sugar! I think she had an inch of goo at the bottom of her tea cup.

They can't help themselves. We all love Daddy.

This was an attempt to document my pretty, new hair! Too bad the angle makes it look as long as it was before! Weston has also been sporting a new, comb over style. I love it. Such a handsome boy.

Here we go with heels again! She's fancy.

Chocolate chip cookie massacre.

Olive has suddenly gotten an appetite for new words! She loves this book that Aunt Marcie gave her and likes to go page by page, identifying each object. She repeats them all after me, but also has some memorized. She doesn't speak in more than 2 word sentences but all day long we hear, "Wha dis?" as she points to something. Or "Air Daddy?" or "Air Mommy?" (Where's Daddy/Mommy.) She also JUST learned Collin and Weston's names. "Tollin" and "Eston".

 LOVE.

 Given that Travis is at the church every Tuesday and Thursday and I'm there every Wednesday, we often have to do kid swapping if other things come up. Last week, Collin had an 8pm t-ball game, so I got the two younger ones at mutual. It was an unusual night... we had this boys choir from Minnesota stop by to do a performance. Weston LOVED it. He's our musical one. He stood there, copying every action the boys did. I need to get this kid in music lessons!

How many times a day do I wish I could make Olive understand something!! This age is so frustrating because they THINK they understand, but they don't. Some things you can explain, but most you just can't. I don't even know what this tantrum was about, but she got mad about something and in a pout, banged her head on the metal railing. Well, that just. set. her. off. It's like she thought I smashed her head in. As she proceeded to fall apart, she could find no comfort except in her thumb. But with no blankie to cuddle, she tried her best to console herself on the floor of the tub. The water in her eyes proved to be another irritant. I have to admit, the whole thing was rather amusing to watch. My, it's tough to be one. 

Missy moo got a hold of my phone. That toe makes me laugh! It's the oddest thing how it sticks out like there's no room for it. And the third toe is the shortest of them all. We'll call it character. ;)

We've been wanting to get together with Terry and his girlfriend, Linda, for a long time now. We finally made it work this past Friday. He suggested a place called the Eagle Cafe. It's the oldest restaurant in Gallup and actually had really good food! We downed our burgers. It's funny how people, 30 years apart, can get along so well and talk the night away. Obviously, generation gaps are noticeable, but it's so nice that they don't have to prevent such wonderful friendships! I love these two! Wish we could hang out more often.  

Last Saturday was such a nice day with my family. We went on a walk in the morning and stopped by Terry's house so the kids could play with Linda's dog. After lots of cleaning, mowing the lawn and washing the car, it was time for some fun! We went to Red Rock Park to watch a rodeo. Travis had taken the boys before, but it was my first time. I'll be honest, rodeo's always kinda, sorta rubbed me the wrong way. I feel so bad for the little sheep/cow/bull getting wrangled to the ground or having their bodies yanked in half while a horn and leg get simultaneously roped!! It's sad, right??! PETA rant over. It actually turned out to be a pretty entertaining night. I guess I'm not that big of an animal rights activist. ;) And Olive was gettin' down with her bad self! Haha! 

The arena actually had a really pretty setting, being half surrounded by smooth, beautiful red rock. 

Father's Day!

Oh how we love our daddy! Collin loves holidays and really gets into them. Without my knowledge, he hijacked my wax paper roll and made a banner that he hoped Travis would BURST through as he came downstairs, to which we would hop out of our hiding places and yell, "Surprise!!" It didn't work out quiiiiite like that, haha. I was up before 6am, however, baking cinnamon rolls and getting everyone ready for church. I gave some to our bishop and Terry, then came home to ours to find them a huge, freaking, doughy mess. Bah!!! I baked them the right amount of time and they looked perfect on the top. I don't even know how that's possible. I was so TICKED. Then poor Trav had to deal with an ornery wife. I'm clearly SO good at this game. During the 3rd hour, the YW helped hand out cinnamon rolls to the priesthood. Cinnamon rolls that the bishop's wife baked. Awesome. So I gave them a pan of something they already had. I'm two for two here.  

Hopefully, his nap made up for my ineptness at baking.

Then, that night we scored big, getting invited over to the Kiefer's house with a few other families for a cookout. They just moved into a sweet, new home. My first thought when I walked in was, this is a party house!! And my word, Jasmine can cook! She said they used to have a catering business. She had massive amounts of homemade refried beans, queso, grilled beef and chicken, green chili, tortillas, and hot dogs for the kids plus a huge array of sodas and desserts that the rest of us brought. It was ridiculous how good it all was! I ended the night in a food coma. The kids ran amok with all their friends and it was nice to have some adult conversation. Best Father's Day ever. :)

Weston is a Udall. As in, he is a TALKER. This lady sat down next to us at a t-ball game and got an earful. She really was so nice and obliged him as long as he wanted. Then it was Olive's turn to sidle up and make a friend. I think they must miss their Grandmas. :)

Very last minute, Collin and Weston got enrolled in a 3 day soccer camp at Miyamura High School. As in, at 8:55am I asked them if they wanted to go and it started at 9am. It's a fund raiser for the girls soccer team. Weston was super excited and had no hesitations. Collin was excited at first, but by the time we got there he was bailing. It took a solid 1/2 hour to talk him into it. I tried coaxing, bribing, threatening, talks about courage... you name it, I tried it. FINALLY, after a few moments of quiet, he hopped up and said, "OK, I'll do it." Whew. I was outta there in 2 seconds so he couldn't change his mind. It was only Monday-Wednesday from 9-12pm. Every time I picked them up they were beat red and happy as could be. A guy announced that free lunch was being served in the high school's cafeteria on the first day, so we walked over to check it out. I was debating whether it was ethical to eat it or not, but we did. Well, the kids did. It was interesting to go inside the high school. From what I know, Miyamura is named after a local man that served in WWII. He's still alive too. There was a statue of him right in the front that the kids thought was cool. They begged me to take a picture with him. Collin is so proud to pose and Weston is cuddling his hand.

We had Lilly and Steel over on a preschool day when Weston was gone. We actually went to playgroup for the first time in almost a year. Bad move. It is gnat season and we got eaten alive.

Then we went back to our house for some water fun. I don't know if I would have included these pictures except for the fact that I captured Steel biffing it, totally on accident. I thought Lilly and Collin were being cute together and didn't even see Steel until he was flat on his back and then realized I got it on camera!

 On Friday, we spent the day at the Bloomfield pool. It's 2 1/2 hours away and literally the closest, fun, outdoor pool to us. My poor kids know that if they want to have any fun, they have to be prepared to be in their carseats a looong time. We met Brinn, Megan and Yolanda out there. We stopped into Farmington first, just long enough to grab a Costa Vida salad for me and Sonic corn dogs for them. They swam from 12-4pm which meant we spent more time driving than actually swimming. But that's OK. I LOVE the sun and water so it was worth it. And they have some huge, twisty slides that they let the kids go down without parents. Olive was pretty good to stay close to me so my anxiety level was only at about a 6 regarding drowning.  

 Her little swimsuit straps have a hard time staying up, and she was tired of it, so she wanted to go topless by the end. She's pouting because I'm fighting her on it.

 We got home around 6pm, then I left for book club with Megan at 8pm. I'm not a regular at book club.. I just don't feel like I have time to read anymore.. but this month they picked The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. This is literally a LIFE CHANGING book because I saw how it's changed my mom's life. (Her house is completely revolutionized. I can't even describe it. It was getting so so bad. When I first walked into her room after she started throwing stuff out, I screamed. It caught me so off guard. And I honestly almost cried. What a difference it makes to get rid of stuff!!!) So I was excited to read it! It didn't disappoint. It's premise is based on discarding. You can't really get organized until you DISCARD. And you decide on what to discard by asking yourself if each individual object brings you joy. I loved it because I definitely hold on to things I don't need for all sorts of unnecessary reasons like guilt, sentiment or what I like to call "dental school syndrome". When we didn't have any money so every individual thing was precious. When I brought this up at book club, someone joked that dental school was like the Depression for me. And it's true! It was a time in my life that we didn't have any money so I hoarded anything I could get. And it's hard to let go of that mentality. Anyway, our discussion was a lot of fun and now I can't wait to get to tidying up my house! :)

Reddin and Karen's family stayed with one night while they were passing through to Colorado. We had breakfast together the next morning and let the kids play for a while before they had to leave. I had to laugh because all the kids left their shoes in a pile and look who found them. It was like treasure just left out to hoard. Olive's heaven.

 During the summer, the library hosts various activities on Saturdays. One Saturday was this guy, Frank Leto, putting on a music show. Whenever he asked for volunteers, Weston has right up there. Olive would gradually follow suit. Weston is definitely our uninhibited music lover.

Later that night, Travis and I got to go out on a date and see the new Jurassic World. It was entertaining, but fairly contrived. It was a little tainted by the fact that my stomach has been awful for the past couple of weeks so I didn't get to eat or have any popcorn. If anyone would like to trade me GI's, I'll accept.

 The last Monday of the month was Collin's final t-ball game. Sad day! He has loved it so much. His team name was the Tigers. One time he hopped out of the car and I swatted him on the rear and said, go get 'em Tiger!! Right as I said it, I realized the pun, and cracked up. (I'm hysterical, in case you didn't know.)

He's not a competitive spirit when it comes to sports, but he's a good hitter and likes to catch the ball. And it's been fun to watch him. Especially after the weather warmed up. Baseball is definitely my favorite sport. But I also realized that I'd never gotten anything from the concession stands yet. For shame!! Nachos were calling my name! And so was DQ afterward. ;)

 Yesterday afternoon, while I was semi-passed out on the couch (proud mom moment), I had told the boys they could get a snack. They decided apples would hit the spot, and grabbed the vegetable peeler to get the peels off. All of a sudden Collin started yelling that Weston cut himself. I ran over to see a hand covered in blood and a hysterical Weston. I could hardly clean it up enough to get a look at it because the second I took the paper towels away, it would immediately pool up in blood again. But it looked bad. And the poor guy couldn't calm down. I was afraid he was going to put himself in shock or something. I knew I needed to keep pressure on it until it stopped bleeding, but every time I tried, Weston would scream louder. And I was surprised at how much it was bleeding. I finally got a hold of Trav and luckily he had just finished with his last patient. I also called the doctor's office but they didn't offer much help. Within 1/2 hour it did stop bleeding and he calmed down. The paper towel wad was heavy with blood. I found the top of his thumb on the floor. He literally skinned it right off... nail and all. The irony is that we had just gotten home from the doctor's office because he had stuck an apple seed up his nose on Sunday and we still hadn't gotten it out. Dang apples!!! He must have swallowed it though or it fell out because the doctor couldn't find it. That, or it's stuck so far back that she just couldn't see it and it will cause problems in the future. Greaaat. My mom said what goes around comes around because I stuck an orange seed up my nose and had to have a doctor get it out. Blasted karma.