Chick Fil A

So Tawnya calls me up Wednesday night to tell me that her and her friend Jaque are going to get in line at Chick Fil A and camp out so they can be one of the first 100 customers when it opens the next day, and therefore get a year supply of Chick Fil A for FREE!!! And they were wondering if I wanted to come? Um heck yes I do!! The kids are even in bed already! So we set up at tent, read magazines, and even invited others over for a SMORE party! We met some fun people and had lots of girl talk. Because the one thing we didn't do was sleep. It was too hot to sleep. It cooled down to like 80 degrees, but realize we were sleeping on the hot asphalt that didn't cool down. We had fun nonetheless. So at 4:45, they called everone from their tents to clean up, and get in line. I had my year's worth of coupons in my hands by 6:00 in the morning! Just enough time to make it home before Ryan left for work. I was able to do all that in the time my kids were sleeping. Too bad they were waking up when I got home and that meant no nap for Kristin. All in all it was a fantastic experience. It reminded me of something I would have done in college. I need to do more fun stuff like this so I don't turn into an old fart. The funny part about this-I'd never had Chick-Fil-A before. SO I didn't even know if it was good. Luckily they gave us samples and ice cream through out the night, so I found out it was worth it.

lil' scooter

Drake is now eleven months old, and I've been asked by many, "is he crawling yet?" The answer is no, he's not crawling, he's scooting. It is so stinkin' cute! Gwen was the same way though. She did the same scoot thing, but one of her legs was up. I was worried about the hand leg coordination thingy, but she started crawling the week before she started walking, so she DID figure it out. She also never cruised. She would just start standing in the middle of the room, and eventually she just started taking steps from that point. I wonder if Drake's going to be the same way because he definately doesn't like it when I stand him up to things. So enjoy the videos of the cutest little scooter around.

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The public bathroom

I have a problem. That is a little girl almost 3, and a son almost one. Of course they are so much fun and bring copious amounts of joy to my life, when it's just them and me things can get difficult. For example, Gwen is now potty trained. But that also means that when she says she needs to go, I've got to start looking for a bathroom pronto squanto! But picture this scenerio. In the grocery store, cart full of food and my two offspring, Gwen says she needs to go. We head to the bathroom where I have to get the kids and my purse out of the cart because I can't take a cart full of merchandise into the bathroom. So we head to the handicap stall so there's room for the three of us in there. No baby changing table in the stall, so I have to hold Drake (since he's not walking/standing) while I cover the toilet seat with scads of toilet paper so Gwen's little bum doesn't touch a public toilet, then gently set her on top of it so it doesn't fall in the toilet, wipe her and help her down, all one handed. Then while she's pulling up her pants, I realize I really need to go too. But I've done this before, I can totally hold Drake, hover and then re-dress myself one handed. But oh no, Gwen's DONE! Despite my instructions to keep the door shut, mommy's not dressed yet, Gwen's opening the stall door. Of course this is also the same time that all the women in the other stalls are now out buzzing around our stall. I quickly am trying to pull up my pants, balance my purse and Drake, and can't figure why my pants are not up yet. Of course, Drake's foot is in the way, keeping my pants down. Oh the humiliation. People have asked, "And none of the women out there helped you?". But I figure they thought it was better to pretend they didn't see, and pretend they didn't know what was going on. Oh they saw. They knew. But how do I change this sequence of events? Because guess what? It happened again, the very next day at Costco!

Happy Father's Day!

To the wonderful father's in our lives. Happy Father's Day!
Ryan is such a good daddy to our sweet kids. He works so hard, and when he comes home they are so happy to see him. Usually Gwen will run up to him and give him a big hug! She likes to talk about her daddy's muscles and how they are so big! And one of her favorite conversation sequences goes like this: "Daddy?", "what?" "I love you, yours awesome!" She's such a daddy's girl! He already bought her her first golf clubs and likes to show her how to hit the ball. She loves her daddy daughter time. Ryan is also so proud of his "Drakey boy". I know they'll be so close as Drake grows.

Oh Grandpa, where do I begin? Grandpa is one of the funniest men I know. We are so lucky and blessed to have him be such a wonderful example to us. He joined the church when he was 18 right before being drafted for WW2 but had a strong testimony and has been such a strong member of the church ever since. He strongly believes that family is the most important thing we have, and we are so lucky to have him as a part of our family!

I never had the chance to meet Ryan's dad. He passed away seven years ago. But even though I've never met him, I know that he was a wonderful father to all of his children. He must have been an incredible father with how amazing all of his children turned out! He taught Ryan so much about how to be honest and noble. He was such a strong, faithful man, and a hard worker as well. I love it when Ryan shares stories about his dad and talks to the kids about their Grandpa McPhie.

And to Papa. He is a crack up!! He is so silly and we love it! And let me tell you, this man knows meat. It is not unusual that we might drop by unannounced on a random evening to find him making dinner, and the dinner is usaully eight huge steaks on the BBQ!!! Let me remind you that it's just him and my mom at home now! So Ryan LOVES that! He also is an avid fisher. He got Gwen a pole and taught her how to cast it. I never noticed this about him until I went away to BYU and came home, but he has a Navajo accent. We love it! He has been such a great support to me and I love him so much. I know I always can go to him, and I'm so lucky to have such a good dad.

Busy week

Highlights of the week:

*Tuesday Ryan called me from work to tell me that he had tickets for us to go to the Diamondbacks game...in the OWNER'S SUITE!! It was so fun, and fully catered! I ate two bowls (of the best salsa ever) all by myself! Plus, we won in the 10th inning against the SF Giants. Go DBACKS!

*Gwen's first dance class! It was so cute to see her with the other girls, and while the other girls kept dancing, having her come up to me and say ... well just watch the video, you have to see for yourself.

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That little ballet prodigee in the black leotard is Gwen's cousin Haylee.

*Monday my friend Meg invited Gwen and I to go to a movie with her and her daughter Rachel, and she brought lots of yummy candy! Thanks Meg!

*Working out. Tuesday I got worked by a trainer!! Ryan and I are determined to get into good shape, and evidently Gwen's been watching! The other day I came downstairs to see her checking her body fat!

*Dinner with the BYU girls-teppanyaki style!

*Lunch with my sister in laws, Emily Eager and Emily McPhie, and trying bingsoo. It was scrumptious!

*Having Gwen WANT to help me clean the bathrooms, and while she's cleaning the toilet say "I'm cleaning the toilet, I clean, I'm a good mommy like you."!! Melted my heart! Gwen you can always clean with me!

And the not so fun stuff:

*Coming out Wednesday morning to find the pool half full!

this is after a few hours of having the hose on. Basically something's broken and that just means lots of money. :(

*Gwen having big D and not making it to the toilet FOUR times! Poor girl, she's better now.

*Missing my first Hip Hop dance class Tuesday, but it was to go to the DBacks game with my cute hubs, so that's okay.

*Drake waking up in puke today and having an upset stomach all day. My poor little guy. To remember better days...

He's my sweet, happy, clappy, cuddler! Get better soon buster!

ears are for...

listening to birds, for everybody talking, and when my mommy says "shhh".

a late Memorial Day post

First off, Memorial Day was also

Grandpa's Birthday!

Happy 83rd birthday Grandpa.

He is as we like to say "as old as the hills and twice as dirty"!

We love him so much and appreciate the good influence he is to all of us!

So to celebrate we had a BBQ and swimming at our house. Lot's of food, fun and sun. :) Observe...

In addition to the family, we had the
Jacksons over. Their daughter Kinlee, is only three weeks older than Drake. So we get Drake, Kinlee and Jack together every Thursday for playday.

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