All of It

I have some piano students whose mom also happens to be Tyson's nursery teacher.  As our friends left our house & told us how much they loved our fish, and hanging out with us for a little bit, I closed the door and Tyson had a serene look on his little face:

"Mom, I love ev'ryfing in my life," he said.

Could I be any happier?  That's what this whole grind is for, isn't it?  All the stress, long nights, worry, labor, planning, chores, church meetings, crazy schedule...isn't it all to bring me & my family joy?  Well, it is bringing them joy, and it feels so good to hear that from my son.  In one second I can forget all of the problems that afflict my mind, because his little mind is happy, and that's what it's all about.  His serenity is contagious.

I told him how happy he makes me, and that I'm glad he loves everything in his life.  "We should thank Heavenly Father for all the wonderful things he gives us, " I said.

Tyson smiled, looked up a little towards the ceiling, and in a sweet voice said, "Thank you, Heavenly Father."

And then he went off to play, rolling balls, making tunnels, chasing his brother, explosion noises and all.  And I am changed.

"I Like My Silly Clothes"

I used to think I understood what it meant to have mis-matching clothes (you know, not pairing a brown belt with black shoes, or not wearing odd patterns together, or making sure to keep warm colors together and cool colors together).  Having a 3 year old who is dressing himself gives mis-matching an entirely new definition. 

 Just one week ago he chose a 2T blue Surf Dog shirt and paired it with a 5T pair of Cars swim shorts that doesn't fit him, but he insisted he should wear it to Grandma Borden's house.  (The fact that we have a 5T Cars swimming suit is hilarious to me, because Erin found it on sale at WalMart for $2 last year.  She couldn't pass up a deal like that because she says Cars is timeless and she gave it to Tyson as part of his gift for his 2nd b-day....BAHAHA...well, he's got a couple more years before it really fits him, but he found it in the back of his drawer last week & was in love already).

Today's match...one of his cousin's loose fitting motorcycle t-shirts paired with tight fitting camo-pajama pants. 

Our conversation:

Me:  We should go get you dressed for the day in some different clothes, the ones you're wearing are kind of silly.

Tyson:  I like my silly clothes.

Me:  Well okay, then.

Because I Want to Be Like Nephi...and dwell in a tent....

Is it possible to win the Hubby of the Year Award multiple times within the same year?  Well, Mitch is certainly headed that way.  Monday night for our weekly family activity he went above and beyond.  Not only did he prepare a lesson, he turned it into a backyard camping extraveganza.  Tyson was so excited!

Mitch taught us a lesson about how Nephi and his family had to journey in the wilderness, and they slept in tents.  They also had a "special ball" called the liahona that would tell them where to camp, but they had to be good boys and girls in order for it to work.  (I seriously love hearing scripture stories tailored to fit toddler understanding & attention spans).  At any rate, we got to cook our own food in the wilderness of the backyard, and we taught Tyson what S'mores are...he's had them before, but it was like everything was new and exciting for him that night.  Isn't he adorable interacting with his daddy during the lesson as he attentively ate his hotdog at the same time? 

Lucky for me & Emmett, the family tent happened to be missing a pole from when Mitch took it to a Father's & Son's campout this past Spring.  Our entire family was apparently going to camp in the backyard to conclude the lesson, but the big tent didn't work out, so Mitch & Tyson camped out in the little tent while me & Emmett enjoyed the cool A/C all night long.  The next day Mitch said he'd slept better, but I don't think Tyson cared.  It was the best FHE we've had for a long time...what on earth am I supposed to to tomorrow?  I already know it's going to pale in comparison.  We're apparently in the market again for a family sized tent...if anyone has one for super cheap, let us know. : )

You're Killin' Me, Smalls!

E.J., you get into EVERYTHING!  I never knew how busy you would keep me.  All this time I've been saying, "He's such a GOOD baby!"  I wouldn't say you're bad, now, but you're definitely making up for all the time that I had it easy.  I simply cannot keep up with you right now.  You're 10 months old, going on CRAZY!  Here are some baby attributes that describe you right now: quietly curious, unfulfilled, has to EAT (taste) everything, never wants to be alone even for a second, happy, thoughtful, discovering, and exploring.  You put a whole new meaning to "He's IN to everything."  You are literally IN the cabinets, IN the tupperware, IN the shelves and books, IN the mess (wherever the mess may be, because it was most likely created by you), IN every corner of the house, touching, feeling, and TASTING everything.  The experts say that babies learn by tasting things--I certainly hope that's true--we need some sort of benefit from all of the messes you're making.  I guess I can handle it if it's in the name of learning.  I LOVE YOU! 

...What are you INTO, now?

The Cool Couples...

It's difficult to pinpoint the exact moment in time when Mitch and I ceased feeling like one of the "cool couples" because we somehow suddenly morphed into one of the "we-are-lame-zombie-parents-who-don't-plan-things-even-tho-we-still-want-friends couples".  I honestly don't know when we internally gave up on trying to fit in and just started caring about survival...the change happened when Obama took office...haha, just kidding (kind of not kidding, too, though).  The final phases of this metamorphasis actually did occur sometime in the middle of this past school year, though, when we never saw each other, had a second child, and seemingly no quality family time, let alone friend time.  It was so lame.  Of course married life is ALWAYS bliss--don't get me wrong--it's just that somewhere along the way we started enjoying sleep more than living, and we forgot to plan things for ourselves, so that's why I'm going to give a shout out to my peeps.... 

Let me tell you who HASN'T forgotten how to be COOL this past week or so: 

Jacob & Kimarie--Thanks for the Christmas in July Party.  You guys are a very COOL couple!
Adam & Ashley, and Rachel & Trent--Thanks for instituting a regular game night plan to remind us how to be cool!
Lindsay & Mike--Thanks for being spontaneous & keeping us up late--seriously a surprise sort of cool!
Jen & Tor--Thanks for playing B.S. with us--I seriously forgot how fun (and COOL) a simple thing like that could be.
Bryce & Nikki--Is "Thanks" even sufficient for an Epic River Boarding Family BBQ?--holy crap that was COOL--and there was no charge for the awesomeness, which made it even better, haha!
Bret & Kat--Thanks for the Sushi!  It feels so COOL to gain a little bit of culture & to finally be able to say that I've tasted wasabi, and I LIKE IT!

To all of my friends who I haven't hung out with since I've had children or within the last 6 months, even--I LIKE YOU, and Mitch and I think you are SUPER COOL, and please forgive us for forgetting to live a little--we should get together with you soon.  We want to change our lives and feel young again, and stay up until 1am doing nothing.  And to one of the coolest couples of all, Mike & Erin, you are truly missed over here, even if you have an exotic new life on the East Coast *sigh*.

And Dear J-Dawg,

Remember when we worked at Steve Madden together and you were shocked that I would consider getting married at the age of 20, because you dreaded the idea of waking up at the age of 25 and realizing "Holy crap, I'm married, when did that happen and what was I thinking?"  I just laughed at you, and by no means do I truly feel that way, now. However, it's only 6 years later, but I can actually see how someone could get to that point, and I pledge to you that such a wretched scenario is NOT going to happen to me, because I know that LIFE itself has a way of beating the life out of you sometimes, and I'm going to fight back for you J-Dawg.   I'm going to live the married dream and still be cool like my friends (you guys just might need to keep reminding me sometimes by being the planners & then I'll remember I need to plan fun stuff, too). 

One more thing--I just need to give a shout out to my mom for watching HOURS of chick flicks with me when the guys took their "Guy Trip".  I need to shout out to my Aunt Sue & Grandma, too, for inviting us to pick peaches, almost die from West Nile Mesquitos (j/k), feed horses, chase goats, eat at In N Out, and generally have an amazingly good time--it's so easy to talk to you.

I love all of you guys!