Addendum to previous post

There really is a song that is called "You're a Jerk"

I am so not hip, I thought Luke had made that whole bit up.

So for those without teenagers, see here for the uplifting tune.

Father's Day

Daddy and Sadie

Daddy and Luke

Father's Day, 2010

I gotta say, I have a great guy.  He works so hard for our family and despite putting in 60-70 hours a week at the ER, he will still help me with the monsters when he gets home.  He has a way with the kids that I can't reproduce and they love and respect him so much.  It is actually quite annoying.  I wish I only had to say things once.  He doesn't even have to yell.  Anyways, I am happy that my children are blessed with a loving, caring, involved, hardworking, righteous, fun-loving, patient (etc..) father.  We love you!

Don't know how I got so blessed.  I also have a wonderful father of my own who I can always count on when I need him.  On Father's Day, I was looking in my scriptures and found the note he wrote me when he gave me the scriptures for my 20th birthday.  It was so neat to re-read it on Father's Day and it just made me realize how much he loves me and how much he has done for me. Love you RED DADDIO!

Of course, I could never forget my Father-in-law, Rod.  He is the greatest.  He and Todd have such a great relationship and he is a great example of love, service and unselfishness.  He is still a kid at heart and we have so much fun vacationing with him and Jeanne.  I am fortunate to have so many men in my life who are wonderful priesthood holders and who bless those around them with their love and service.

I love these men and appreciate their FATHERHOOD in my life.

There is beauty all around

When there is love at home.  However, there may not be much beauty in my home.  Just one example of a loving conversation that occurred recently....

Me talking on the phone while trying to get Sadie and Luke to bed.

Sadie is crying. 

Me: "What's wrong Sadie?"

Sadie: "Luke called me a jerk"

Me: "Luke, did you call your sister a jerk?"

Luke: "No, I didn't.  I was just singing a song."

Me continuing to try to talk on the phone.  I overhear Luke call Sadie a jerk. Sadie starts crying again.

Me: "Luke, quit calling Sadie a jerk. That is very naughty!"

Luke: "I am not calling her a jerk.  I am just singing a song.  (Looks at Sadie) 'You're a jerk. You're a jerk. You're a jerk' It is a song that Maddie sings all of the time to me."

My sister-in-law on the other end of the phone line is laughing because she hears this whole thing.  I am thrilled with his manipulative skills and his willingness to look danger in the eyes and laugh. He is truly a skilled boy who may not live to see his 5th birthday.  

Monkeys on the loose at the Zoo!

Hungry Howler Monkeys

Sleepy Penguins and Wired Toddlers

Cleaning out an orifice

Sadie and her steed

Baby orangutan about to fall off his perch

Hmm.. maybe it's a girl, not a boy

Sadie playing on the playground.

KIDDING!

Our favorite little orangutan showing off.

You pick your favorite image label for this picture.

Is it:

1. A bit of a suggestive pose, but to each his own

or

2. Baby got back

or

3. Todd and his sweater sunning himself

My 2 girls on the train

My two toddlers in a pipe

A monkey escaping the zoo, via slide

Goodbye Zoo! We can't wait for our next visit!

Decided to take my monkeys to the zoo on Friday.

We were "downtown" already for Tanner's U of U football camp,

so we decided to make a day of it. It was really fun.

We dropped T off at the U and headed immediately for the zoo.

We were the FIRST ones into the park--

how come that can't happen for important things like work or church? Hmm...

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning and the animals were full of themselves.

Mine, as well as the furry, four-legged ones.

We managed to see a few of them eating breakfast, but most of them

were starring at us like they would like to eat us.

The howler monkeys were especially creepy.

They took one look at us and came as close to the glass as they could get.

They peered at us and smacked their lips.

One even started banging his fork against the glass of his cage.. (kidding)

At first it was cute, then not so much.

In all of my visits to the zoo, I have never seen the wolves up and moving around.

It was awesome to see them all frisky and alive.

I have often wondered if there were really wolves in the wolf exhibit, cause you never see 'em.

They really were acting just like regular ol' dogs,

pouncing and running and jumping.

Well, like normal dogs. Not really like Sophie.

The thing that resembled Sophie was the freakish large turtle.

I have never seen anything in my life so grotesque, but strangely cute.

Well, except for Sophie (see here).

Loved, loved, loved the giraffes. Especially funny was the one that kept sticking

his tongue in each nostril. It would just fling that 4 foot tongue up, like it was

fishing for something. It would land in a nostril every time. Crazy. Humorous.

Animals are weird.

The best was the orangutan. The baby was awake and high in his perch, playing with his

"blankie" (a canvas sack). Seriously, so cute. We watched him for a few minutes, and then

the kids were getting antsy, so we started to walk away.

I swear, it was as if he got ticked because we were leaving.

He started swinging his blanket up and down and when he could

see he really had our attention, he proceeded to throw it down into

the little stream that goes through his enclosure.

Showoff.

We laughed and watched for a few more minutes and then

Sadie was pulling on my finger, so we started to walk away,

but again, Baby Orangutan was not having it.

He started swinging around, upside-down on his rope

with another of his "blankies"

So fun. I could have watched all day.

But alas,

I have offspring, who look at an endangered species

for 1.3 seconds and then get bored and run to the next exhibit

where they see another fascinating creature which bores them.

I swear we saw all that the zoo has to offer in about 16 minutes.

The funniest (and most annoying) thing about my whole quarter hour

spent at the zoo was discovering Luke's favorite animals.

Of all of the animals at the zoo, Luke's favorite was the peacock

and the squirrels that run freely through the zoo grounds and that are a

dime an dozen.

Luke: "MOM MOM MOM MOM! Look at the cute squirrels. Oh, I wish

I could hold them and pet them. Can we have them for our pets? Look

how cute they are? I want to have one for a pet. Please can you get one for me?

I really think they would be fun to have at our house..." and on and on and on.

Seriously, we spent more time watching the squirrels and trying to touch a peacock

than looking at all of the other animals combined.

Kids are so weird.

Poor Maddie (blood alert!!)

Ms. Maddie and her latest boo boo.  Happened in the last 1/2 hour of her last

day of volleyball camp at Hillcrest High.  This is what happens when

your forehead meets a pointy elbow of another person.  I can't

quite believe that an elbow can do this to a person, but now that I 

know, I may use mine more often.

Holy crap, we had to wait for a long time for the

Plastic surgeon to come stitch her up.  This guy

totally could have done it, but decided to be DAD and

hold hands and comfort and watch TV instead.

Tools of the trade

Seriously annoyed

Click on this picture and make it super big-it is so cool!

We like to call her Maddie Potter

with her cute little lightning scar

Such a good sport and a wonderfully 

beautiful girl inside and out!

Love ya Maddie!

Stacy plus 7

I was feeling brave.  Decided to take the kids to Lagoon with a couple of cousins and a friend of Maddie's.  What was I thinking? I don't know. Sometimes, I just don't do a lot of thinking, I just do a lot of doing.  This was one of those occasions.  And despite all of the stress and misadventures, it was a great day with some great kids.  We all had a memorable day and I was glad I made the effort.  

We arrived bright and early, right as the park was opening.  It was going to be a good day! I was determined. In the first hour, we hit several rides in Kiddie land. I happened to be by myself with the "monsters" (aka Sadie and Luke) as the older kids were off having fun.  Luke was getting on an airplane ride and informed me he had to pee.  I told him as soon as he got off we would hurry to the bathroom. This ride happened to be run by the most annoying person alive. She decided to fill up the ride before she started it.  I think Luke sat in the airplane for about 10 minutes before she finally got the thing going.  The ride ended, and I hurried the kids to the bathroom. I showed Luke which stall to go in and repeated my mantra ("DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING") and went in the next stall with Sadie to help her on and off.  I came out from helping Sadie and Luke was standing by the stroller, we washed hands and went outside to get in the next line.  Several minutes later while we were in the line, I picked Luke up to hold him for a minute and discovered he was soaking wet.  It took my weary mind a few seconds to compute... urine, all over, we just got here, i am not leaving, what the heck am i going to do?, i could buy some shorts, too much money, i'll rinse him off in the water feature, good idea

So, he had decided he couldn't wait while on the plane ride and had relieved himself on the plane and hadn't informed me.  Played the role of obedient child while in the bathroom, all the while standing in shorts that were soaking wet. The child has no conscience. 

Then, after rinsing him off in the water feature--that is precisely what it is for, I am sure--we went on a few rides and then decided to go to Rattlesnake rapids for a bit more water rinsing.  On the way we stopped to let the kids go on the log ride.  I was on the phone with Todd telling him of our joyous adventures when what do I see?? Luke with his pants down to his ankles peeing, right at the entrance to the log ride.  I swear he was even aiming for a cooler that was sitting on the grass by the entrance.  Once again, my mind could not think fast enough... stop peeing, stop peeing, pull your pants up, stop peeing!  Holy crap. We are about to be ejected from the park for public nudity and for being just plain sociopathic.  I was just so proud at that moment. 

So we went to Rattlesnake Rapids.  Got really wet.  Laughed a lot.  As we were walking to another ride, Maddie and her friend were in front of me and I noticed the unthinkable.  Maddie's cute friend had white shorts on.  Do you know where I am going with this ladies?? Oh yeah.. mother freaking nature had decided to rear her ugly head while at Lagoon wearing wet, white shorts.  Again, my life flashed before my eyes.. what the holy crap are we going to do? I can't leave we just got here, could buy her some shorts or a skirt, tie a shirt around her, someone is messing with me and I don't appreciate it!  She ended up having some extra shorts in the car and we found the necessary implements and DISASTER AVERTED...

All in a day at Lagoon

Rinsing off since he doesn't believe in going to the toilet.

Luke's favorite ride BY FAR.  I am not exaggerating when I say he must have 

rode this ride about 15 - 18 times. He was enamored with the guns

that made real shooting sounds.  He would spend the entire ride shooting

the parents that he was zipping past.  The ride would end and he would get

unbuckled and RUN to the exit then RUN to the entrance to wait for his next

turn on the "best ride of my whole yife!" Once they let him into the ride area 

he would RUN to each rocket and try out the gun to make sure it

worked, then when he found the one that tickled his fancy just right,

he would beam at me and climb in and strap himself in and immediately 

begin to shoot the spectators and other riders.  He has a one track mind.

Pure luck got both of them in this picture.

My two favorite teenaged boys..

You are both such good boys and I love ya!

Cole and Emma: Part 3 (be afraid)

This is what happens when children get bored and there is a bunch of make-up laying around.

Emma decided to unleash her creative juices on my two daughters.

Her work of art is titled "Nightmare on Skyscape Way"

I was scared to sleep this night.

Maddie will be so happy I posted these "glamour shots".

I post to show my love.