More TrAiNs!

Quinn has been obsessed with trains. He has always liked them but within the last month everything has been about trains.

We went to a train show. It was actually Karen's idea to go. I had wanted to take Quinn but had forgotten about it. I'm so glad she called and reminded me.

She offered to stay home with Paxton so that Quinn and I could go and have a date together. I simply asked Quinn if he wanted to see some trains and he was so excited. He did everything that I had asked him to do because he knew if he listened and obeyed the sooner we could leave for the train show. (Only if he was always like that.)

I knew Quinn would be excited but I had no idea that he would THAT excited.  When we first arrived he saw a rideable train outside.  He wanted to touch it SO bad.  Mean Mom wouldn't let him.  No one was around and what IF something did happen...I didn't want to responsible for it.  I coaxed Quinn inside.

Immediately, he saw a tiny train that went around and would occasionally disappear into a tunnel.  I told him where to watch for it to come out.  He would run around and wait for it each time.  Since it was the first booth, Quinn didn't understand that there were A LOT more trains to see.  We were there for quite a while.  I figured this our date and if he's really enjoying himself why not let him stay for as long as he wanted?  We weren't really in any hurry.

Quinn found some fascinating and very interesting trains.  He would stand in between these two booths and wait for the trains to come around.  Each time he saw them it was like he was seeing them for the first time.  There was a time he would run around to keep up with the train.  Since he was so excited he was super speedy.  Often, he would have to stop to wait for the train to catch up to him instead.

We were at this booth for at least 1 1/2 hours.  The people in charge of this booth found him so entertaining and cute.  They laughed at his excitement.  They gave him some candy.  Then later he was given a train car they were trying to sell for $2.  Definitely, this day was a boy's dream.  I'm surprised I didn't get a picture with his train.  He won't let the thing out of his sight.  He loves it so much.

He played with this set for a long time as well. When other kids would come to play he'd knock them out of the way so he could have it to himself. That didn't last long because he learned quickly that behavior leads to not playing with the trains.

There was another booth where he could control the speed and direction of the trains.  He loved having full control of the track.  He thought it was funny to have all three trains crash into each other.  The owner didn't like it so much.

We ended the day perfectly...a ride on the BiG TrAiN. This is how I talked him into leaving. Then I had to distract him on the way to the car.

Total time at the train show: 3 hours. Wowsers!!!

Honestly, I'm so glad I was able to take Quinn to the train show. I had a smile on my face the whole time. I loved his excitement. I loved everything about the day. It will always be a day I will remember and cherish. Things like this make me love Quinn so much more. I learned so much about him too.

This is what our house looks like a lot of the time. I try to get him to play blocks in his room but he won't have it. So, everyday I pick up his "trains" and he pulls them back out the next day. It does keep him entertained and he loves them. He gets mad when his trains come apart. Sometimes, it's not a happy day. I bet you can guess what Quinn is getting for Christmas...and what his bribe is for going to the bathroom...

L. Tom Perry



We went to my sister's ward to be a part of them blessing their newest baby girl Camilla.  We had to sit in the gym since we were a little bit late.  Sitting in the gym is not an ideal place for those that have small children.  Quinn was running around.  I had to take Paxton out to change him and to feed him.  Quinn came with me and that helped a little.

Anyways, while I was in the hall with my two boys and Karalee had mentioned that it looked like L. Tom Perry was sitting on the stand.  (She was in the hall with me too.)  No one had mentioned he was there so we were trying to figure out if it was really him or not.  Someone got up and then declared they were glad an apostle was with us today...  Then we knew; it WAS L. Tom Perry.

He was there, I think, for a family reunion.  He had mentioned that he wanted to learn more about his ancestors and that it was his 90th birthday.

After sacrament meeting we got a picture with the whole ward.  He was in previous pictures and wanted to get an updated one.  He had to go back to SLC and that was why they did it after sacrament meeting instead of after church.

There was a line to meet him and we were at the end.  Quinn, of course was running around.  (What a better place than outside?)  His security body guard guy had said no pictures but L. Tom Perry said that it was okay as long as we didn't take any longer that what it would have to shake his hand.  I had Michelle quickly snap a picture with her phone.  She also took one of Karalee.  She felt bad for taking it in the first place since she technically wasn't supposed to.  So, she didn't get one with him.  :(

L. Tom Perry was concerned that this picture and meeting thing was taking too long because it was taking all of sunday school's time.  ...and it did take all of it's time.  He told us that we needed to go because he was going to get in trouble.  His son is at the head of the sunday school board.

Mike and I attempted to go.  We took Quinn to nursery and he was not going to have it.  He screamed, cried, and threw the biggest fit.  I wasn't going to force him to go in a different ward.  So, we didn't stay.

It was a COOL experience.  Mike was very funny about it.  In the car he kept saying, "This is the body that L. Tom Perry put his arms around so when you hug me it's like you're hugging an apostle."  The same thing with shaking his hand, etc.  Ha ha!

Family Visiting 2012

Sunday, July 29
We first saw everyone at the baby blessing.  We were so excited to have family in town (see previous post).  We had a luncheon at my parents house in Ririe.  We thought that would be the best location.  Our house is too small to fit that many people although it does have a nice shaded backyard.  Gene and Karen's doesn't have any shade.  It is structured different that it is hard to fit a lot of people in their house as well.  So, thank you Mom and Dad for the use of your house.

Monday, July 30
We decided this would be the best day to go boating because then Joy could join us.  She had to work the rest of the week.

Gene took us on the boat and almost everyone tubed.  Mike was the only one that tried knee boarding.
Quinn decided he did not want to go in the water.  He only wanted to walk around playing in the dirt and looking for sticks.  He got brave a couple of times and sat in a tube.  But...he was sitting in the tube on the dirt.  Maybe the poor kid got tired.  It was sure hot outside too.

Paxton did well considering.  He was on the dock with us starting out and then got sleepy.  I fed him and then put him to sleep on a blanket.  He slept for about an hour and then woke.  Shortly after we left because he would not go back to sleep.  Quinn was getting tired.  The day before Quinn didn't get a nap because of the baby blessing.  Paxton got little sleep too.

We tried putting Quinn down for a nap but he had a hard time going to sleep.  He probably got about an hour worth of sleep.  We went to dinner at Gene and Karen's but came back early to put Quinn to bed.

Tues, July 31
We stayed the night in a cabin in Island Park.  We borrowed it from Mike's Aunt and Uncle.  We didn't go up till evening since we wanted to stay home and get Quinn a nap.  He actually napped this day.

We arrived just in time for dinner; tin foil dinners. We had a campfire and had to rast marshmellows.  We didn't have any grahams so we used fudge striped cookies and chocolate chip cookies.  They were really good.

Of course, we went to bed way too late.  Quinn kept us entertained by going around and have people fake drink from a toy cup.  Derrick fake burped after he did it and then Quinn expected everyone to do it.  It made him laugh so hard and the other kids also laughed.

Each couple had their own room.  The girls shared a room with G-ma in the bunk bed room.  The boys slept out on the floor in the living room.  We let Quinn sleep out there too.  Mike had to lay with him for him to fall asleep.  Sometime during the night, Quinn woke and walked around to other boys trying to wake them up.  Luckily, he wasn't successful.  Mike caught him in time though.

Paxton fell asleep around 9:30 and was out for the night except for the couple of time he woke in the night.  Other stated they didn't hear him.  That was good.

Wed, Aug 1
We woke kind of late and had breakfast.  We were slow getting started.  Some went down to Buffalo River to fish and the goal was to float later.  Mike was tired so he went back to sleep.  A few of us went on walk.

Karen and Kari help watch Quinn and Paxton while Mike and I floated.  It was a 30 minute float so we weren't too worried about leaving the boys.  Mike had made an agreement with his nieces and nephews that if they ate a bug he would pay them $5.  While we were floating, Bryant caught a dragon fly.  Without any thought, Madi ate it.  She left no reaction; nothing.  She's my hero.  How cool is that?

Max didn't want to float so he was on/around the dock looking for his dragon fly.  He never did catch one.

Someone, assuming it was Bryant, caught a fish and he was cooked for lunch.  We also had hotdogs as an option too.

Some floated down the river again but we decided to head home.  Paxton had just fallen asleep and it was time for Quinn's nap.  Quinn immediately fell asleep and even stayed asleep when we stopped for construction.  I had to go to the bathroom and Mike wanted ice cream.  Getting ice cream was a memory he had when he was a kid and they would float the river so he wanted some for old times sake.  Quinn woke during that stop and didn't go back to sleep either.  He went to bed early that night.

We didn't realize this would be the last time we saw Gina, Derrick, and the kids.  I don't think we officially ever told them bye.  Oops!

Thurs, Aug 2
The whole reason why Bryant and Kari chose this week to visit was for the War Bonnet Rodeo.  This was the only event scheduled for the day.  Quinn was able to get his nap and we were able to rest.  To be honest, I missed a lot of the rodeo because of Paxton.  I went to the car to feed him and had to walk around with him too.  It was way loud and don't think Paxton appreciated the noise.  I don't blame him.  I put him in his car seat and it was actually quite a bit quieter.  That helped a lot.

I guess this was a cool part of the rodeo and this was when I was in the car with Paxton.  This is the only picture taken from the rodeo so I thought I would include it.  I guess these Buffalo were really well trained.  They put on a good show!  Too bad I missed it.

Fri, Aug 3
Late afternoon we went shooting with Bryant, Kari, and their kids and G-ma Karen.  It was not ideal taking the kids but it ended up working out anyways.  Poor Paxton was so tired that once again I was in the car with him.  It was so hot that it was hard getting him to sleep.  Next time, Paxton and Quinn will not join us.

Mike was fair and helped out.  He wanted to make sure I got my fair share of shooting.  He really wanted to make sure I was happy and also having fun.  Thank you Mike!

We went out to dinner with Bryant and Kari to Wingers.  We had a nice meal and talked for a bit.  Then we decided to head back to the house to play games.  We played Hit the Deck and Golf.

We said our goodbyes since the plan their plan was to leave in the morning.  :(  We had a great visit with them and can't wait to see them again.

Paxton's Baby Blessing

We finally had Paxton blessed. We knew Mike's family was planning to visit sometime around the end of July to the beginning of August. For that reason, we decided to wait so they could come too.

The neighbor girl had mentioned that she looked back at me while Paxton was getting blessed and I had the biggest grin on my face.  But why not? I was super happy.  It was really neat to have so many of our relatives there.  We truly are blessed with loved ones all around us and can feel their support.  I'm so glad there are a lot of our family that are members of The Church.  

The best thing though; is that I have a wonderful husband and father to my children.  He honors his priesthood and tries so hard to do what is right.  I know Quinn and Paxton will learn from his example.

I wish that we could have gotten more people in the picture.  It was not my idea and therefore didn't mention it to other people.  By the time we had this picture taken most poeple had already left.

Yay!!! We finally got a picture with us four together.  This is the only picture we have of Paxton in his blessing outfit too.  No individual shot of him this time...

Wyatt got married!!!

Congratulations Wyatt and Kirsten!

I wasn't able to go the wedding in Oklahoma.  Mike went leaving me and the kids behind.  It would have been too hard for us all to go and probably expensive too.

This is the longest that we have away from each other.  I was ready for the challenge and wanted Mike to go and be with his family.  I handled well while he was away.

However, when he returned the kids seemed jealous and somewhat possessive of me. This seemed to cause problems in which the kids were hard to handle.  Fortunately, we are back on track and things are going well for us. 

Class reunion

I'm getting old!  I just had my class reunion.  It was a lot of fun.  We had an adult only night where we went to Pizza, Pie, Cafe in Rexburg.  I thought it was a great idea.  No one had to cook and it was all you can eat.  We reserved a room in the back.  The only problem was that it was so echoy like the inside of a swimming pool.  We all had to talk so loud to hear one another.  It was great to see everyone though.

The next day, Saturday, was for families.  We had a swimming pool with a slide for the kids.  There was wonderful food, make-up for the girls (Russell brought it since it was leftover from where he works), pinatas, water balloon volleyball, and a whole lot of talking.  Betty Chase was so kind to let us use her backyard.

Mike was not able to come with me this time.  He had to work.  I had the kids alone.  I, most of the time, have them alone anyways.  So, it really shouldn't be a big deal.  It seems like, this time, the kids were a little more cranky than usual.  Of course, this happens around people that I haven't seen in a long time.  I suspect they just thought they were tired.

Quinn did get his first real good whack in the head.  He walked behind someone while they were swinging.  He disappeared while I was trying to settle Paxton and then someone tells me that he's been hit.  It wasn't that bad and he didn't cry for long.

Everyone was so kind to help out.  I had people holding Paxton while I dished our plates.  When I nursed, inside the house for more privacy, Jesse helped take care of Quinn.  I had Ty help me to my car.  Etc...these are just a few example of everyone's kindness.

It is good to know that almost anywhere I go, I have a few extra helpers and people who understand what I'm going through.  They're more than willing to help since they too themselves have been there.

Thank you everyone!

Different Ideas of Fun!!!

What did we do for Independence Day? Well, it isn't what we typically do.  We sold cotton candy! Mike, every year, claims that he wants to do something.  I told him that this was his year.  He got to talking to one of our friends and found out that her family used to sell cotton candy when she was growing up.  Since she knew what she was doing and we have never done this, we decided to team up with her.  He only officially decided he wanted to sell cotton candy only a few days before the 4th.
Monday night (the 2nd) was crazy.  We hadn't gotten much together and needed to since Tuesday we went over to Mike's parents to celebrate his Grandma's birthday.  Mike was super stressed.  Let's say the getting prepared part wasn't that much fun.

We woke at 7:20 A.M. to meet Sonnet by 8.  Luckily, traffic hadn't been blocked yet so we were able to get through.  I assumed that we wouldn't make sells until about 10:00.  I was wrong.  Kids don't care what time they get to eat something sweet.  They could eat it at all times of the day.  We sold a lot more than we had anticipated at the parade.  Mike would take a stick of cotton candy and walk up and down yelling, "cotton candy $2.00."

Paxton was so good.  He sat in his swing through most of it and slept.  He did wake for a while but was content.  He did want to eat right before it ended.  Quinn was with Grandma Karen.  It made it so that I could help out more.  I was sad that he wasn't there just because I knew he would have loved it.  It did make things easier not having him there.

Selling at the fireworks was a little bit slower at first.  I think it was because people had just eaten and didn't have any more room for cotton candy.  I guess that's what we get for setting up around dinner time.  Also, it was HOT!!!

Out of no where things picked up.  We were selling like mad...then nothing again.  People definitely did come in spurts.  After that it was pretty steady.  We were hardly able to keep our sticks full to walk up and down.  People came to our booth.  Once it was made it was sold.

Quinn and Paxton was each with us this time.  I was only helping out part time.  Paxton was still good but not as good as he was during the parade.  Karen came to help out and she mainly entertained Quinn.  Considering Paxton's age I have nothing to complain about.

People ask a lot, when we tell them that we sold cotton candy, if we are going to do it again.  My first answer is NO!  It was hard with the two boys being so young and needing a lot of attention and care.  It was hot and they were miserable for a bit while setting up and selling at the fireworks.  Mike was so excited and thought it would be a lot of fun...and he did have a lot of fun.  This sort of thing is right up his alley.  For me, well let's say, we have different ideas of fun.  It wasn't horrible but I think I would rather do something different on the fourth.  Mike says that I'll look back at this years to come and think that it was fun because it was different.  We'll have to see...

I wouldn't mind doing it again when our boys get older.  Then they'll be able to have the experience.  Having their help would be nice.

If you look closely you can see me in the background holding Paxton.

 Quinn loved the fireworks.   After each one he would yell more and do ooos and awes.  He made it so much more fun.  I'm glad he was there even if he did get to bed way too late.  He was a good boy!