Getting back on the saddle

So it has been about 20 months (having a baby makes me view time in months) since I last posted on here. Pretty sad. We have had some birthdays, went on some trips, did all the holiday stuff people do during 20 months, survived a bad hail storm at Bear Lake, got a bachelors degree for Matt, got a certificate of completing preschool for Anabelle two times, sent everyone but me back to school (twice), got pregnant, had a baby in January, named him August Rich Jacob, made some yummy food, had my sister Sara be my nanny until she went on her mission, applied to graduate school in Ohio, & had many, many other life experiences that would take far too long to post on here (believe me, I tried). So I am starting with where we are at. Most of the people that read this, if there is anyone left, know mostly what has/is happening in our life, so I shouldn't need to recap much.
Really, this blog is my our family journal. I am a horrible journaler. Seriously, you look at my journals, I think I have a grand total of maybe 30 entries, out of all of them. Writing has never been my strong suit. But this blogging thing was somehow easier for me to do. I really want to get back to doing it again, especially before we move far, far away (maybe I will be able to finally get my family reading my blog by then). Maybe this will improve my memory that was stolen this last pregnancy. So, here's to getting back on the saddle.

And a new year has begun

January was mostly quiet, except in the mornings, when Beckett was getting ready for school, which were not quiet due to the protests about going to school. At least I didn't have to literally drag him out of the house. On the other hand, he has gotten smart enough to know that drawing out getting dressed keeps him from going to school a little bit longer. Smart little monkey.

On a positive note about Beckett and school, he has such a good class. I found out that Beckett's teacher has talked with his class so they understand that he has challenges and he needs their help and support to deal with his challenges. Mrs. Struthers said that the class is very willing to help him, sometimes too willing. She has also asked a girl in the class to be Beckett's mentor (I guess that would be the right word). He always stands by her in line and she helps him when there is a substitute. She is also the biggest kid in the class, so she totally looks like his body guard, which is good for Beckett because he is the smallest in the class. The nicest thing about this is she seems to like to look out for him. It seems like she genuinely wants to help Beckett. There have been a couple of times when she has told him to come stand by her in line, and the way she says it makes me want go up and give her a big hug. She sounds like she really wants him to be by her. I don't know her name though. Beckett is horrible with names and can't tell me what her name is. Maybe he just doesn't know who I am talking about. Communication is definitely one of his biggest challenges, and I am having a hard time thinking outside the box to come up with different ways to explain stuff to him. (If you can't read between the lines, this is a source of frustration right now.) 

Anyways, back to this class. I have a question to pose to the readers of this blog. Do you have any ideas of what I could do to thank his class for being so wonderful to him? I have thought about taking doughnuts or asking the teacher if we could have a special movie party one afternoon. I don't know. I want the kids to know how much we appreciate them being so good to Beckett and helping him with his challenges. I kind of want it to stand out in their mind so that they will hopefully remember how important it is to accept and help everybody all throughout their lives. That might be asking a little much though, so I am okay with just thanking them. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Beckett's class went on another field trip during January. We went to the Ogden Nature Center. Our family has never been before, so I was excited to see what was there. It was super cool. The kids got to go snowshoeing and look for animal autographs. They had so much fun walking around in the snowshoes, and it was fun to watch. Many, if not all, tripped at least once. They also got to pretend to walk like animals, to show the different gates that animals have. They got to touch stuff like snake skin, teeth, skulls, fur, etc. There were stuffed animals all over the place for them to look at. And they had a few animals in cages too. The snake in one of the cages was very active and it really freaked Beckett out. I'm glad that was at the end because he kind of became unglued at that point and was done with the field trip and wanted to go back to school. For the most part, I think he really liked the field trip. But it just wasn't part of his routine and the snake and this one little boy kept annoying him, so by the end of it, he was spent. His teacher said he had to spend the last little bit of the day in the Special Ed room because he kept falling to pieces. This Aspergers thing can really ruin fun days sometimes.

Other days, it makes things so funny and cute.

I love that kid.

On to Anabelle. She is still Little Miss Spunky Pants. I think she wants to add cheerleading to her list of things she conquer someday.

She has also become quite the dancer. She has been a dancer for quite a while, but she has really started to dance a lot lately and she is getting very good at it too. I think we need to look into dance classes.

She is still a budding fashion designer. Her best outfit of January consisted of the dress in the video above, with lime green leggings and a jean mini-skirt underneath the dress. On top of the dress she wore the blue and white striped shirt in the last video with a pink T-shirt on top of that. On her feet, she had these purple slippers that matched the skirt in that same video, with her black Sunday shoes on top of them. I hope you have a good image of her, because I couldn't get her to change before we went to pick up Beckett from school, so I had to take her all dressed up like that. As we were walking to the door that we meet Beckett at, there were people walking behind us. So I said, "Next time we come to get brother from school, we can't wear dress-ups. Okay?" She is a hoot and keeps me on my toes.

Speaking of keeping me on my toes. I have already had to come up with ages for when she can have sleepovers and wearing make-up. That's right, MAKE-UP. I didn't know I would have to come up those numbers already!. Have you guys already decided on them? This girl is going to give us a run for our money before she is even 5! Despite wanting to be an adult at 4, she really is a joy to have. She loves help me clean and tries to be a mother to Beckett whenever she can get away with it. She still loves school and has taken to primary like a duck to water. I can't believe she is in Primary already. Her teacher told me on the second or third Sunday of Sunbeams that she was spelling Anabelle's name on her paper, and Anabelle said she was spelling it wrong and then told her how to spell it correctly. She is just too much. I love my little Bananabelle.

Here are some cute pictures of the kids that I want to share, just because they are cute.

He found my old swim cap and thought it was hilarious.

Vogue!

My 31st birthday was also in January. My sisters and I went to Brian Regan for all of our birthdays this year. It was so much fun. He is so funny. I was dying when he was talking about dancing. It was such a good routine. I haven't laughed that hard in a while and I loved it! Also, Matt and I went to dinner with my parents to Zupas, which is one of the best places to eat. Their chocolate fondue is the best I have ever had. (Even better than the Melting Pot's, except for their smores fondue. That wins them all.) Their soups are heavenly and they have amazing sandwiches and salads, all for pretty decent prices. Go there if you have never been. I promise it is worth it. 

Matt has started his last semester of School. We are so excited for him to be done. There is light at the end of the tunnel. He is taking a Spanish class this semester and it is kicking his butt. Other than that, he likes his classes. His job is still awesome. So life is good for now. I hope I didn't just jinx us.

December and Christmas

December started out with that horrible windstorm and then life just kind of continued to feel like a windstorm throughout the rest of the month (isn't that how December always feels?). I have to admit that I was pretty happy when Christmas day came, just so I could sit around the house and not have to do anything for a while.

One of the first things we did in December was make a Graham Cracker house.

 I was surprised how well the kids did at not eating all of the candy for decorating the house. They had so much fun and loved helping me decorate it. I think we will try it again next year, but maybe we will try using real gingerbread instead. I bet it would hold together better than graham crackers.

Next I got to go on Beckett's first field trip with his Kindergarten class. We went to the Treehouse museum. I drove Beckett and two boys from his class in our car. Beckett was so excited and proud to have them ride with us. We watched a play that the kids participated in. Only one of the children was not afraid to say their lines in front of everybody. It was super cute. The kids also got to do a Chinese Dragon Dance. It was so cool. Each child got to hold one of the poles that held up the dragon and dance throughout the museum, while the adults made lots of noise with drums and cymbals. I think that might have been the favorite thing that we did that day. We also got to do a craft and then run free in the museum. It was a lot of fun.

After months and months of threatening to cut Anabelle's hair if she kept on sucking on it, I finally followed through.

On December 10th, I cut Belle's hair for the very first time, ever. It was difficult to do it, and not just for me, as you can see by the pictures, she wasn't too thrilled about it either. When it was all over though, I think she felt better about it, like she had passed a milestone and was a little more grown up.

I am a little sad that her long hair is gone. She had the cutest curls in the back of her head, just like me when I was her age. And just like me, once the hair was cut, the curls were gone too. But now her hair doesn't look all clumpy and gross. My mom didn't go for a styled cut, we just pulled her hair towards her mouth, and snipped it where it was just out of reach for her to get it in her mouth. Unfortunately, now it has grown just long enough that she can get it in her mouth again and she is starting to take full advantage of it. Urgh!! Why can't I get this child to understand how disgusting that is?! We have even told her that Paul (Matt's friend that Anabelle has quite the crush on, and yes, I am worried about that) doesn't like girls that suck on their hair, but apparently that hasn't fazed her. I guess she is just going to have to have short hair the rest of her life.

Also in December, I went on a date with my mom and aunt to see "A Christmas Carol." Two of my nieces and a nephew were in it and they did a fantastic job. "A Christmas Carol" is such a wonderful way to get you into the Christmas spirit. No wonder President Monson reads that every year.

I also got to go on a date with Matt to his company Christmas party, sans children. It was nice dress too. It has been a long time since Matt and I got dressed up to go out for a nice dinner alone (yeah. there were 400 other people there, but no children). We even got a nice picture taken, but I think Matt might have lost the link to our picture, so that was a bust. The food was really good and we sat with some fun people too. Despite the big let down of no gifts from the company, we had a really good time and were grateful to have had some time to ourselves.

That same weekend we also got to have a family sleepover with Matt's sister, Ana, and her wonderful family. We had a lot of fun having them stay with us. The kids had all kinds of fun together and Belle got to go shopping with Ana's family, so she had the time of her life. We adults made and ate way too much junk food and loved every minute of it. Isn't that what the holidays are all about anyways? I mean, really? One more bonus to having them stay with us, they put Netflix on our Wii, and have left it on there for us to use. It has been awesome! Ana and Scott, you are the best!!

The week of Christmas, both Anabelle and Beckett had parties at their schools. Beckett's was your standard school party. He came home with all kinds of gifts from his teacher and special ED teachers. Lucky duck. I don't remember getting presents from my teachers, let alone 3 teachers.

Anabelle's was a pajama party. She had a blast. Mrs. Claus came and so did the missing Gingerbread boy and girl (They went missing earlier in the month and sent them postcards from their travels all month long). Anabelle still talks about finding the Gingerbread girl. That must have been much more exciting than the big guy's wife.

Christmas Eve was spent at Ana's house, having dinner, painting ornaments, and busting open a pinata. This is two years in a row we have done this, so I think we might start calling it a tradition. The kids did much better at painting their ornaments this year.

 You could actually see the different colors that they used, instead of mixing them all together until the ornament was unrecognizable, like last year. The pinata was also a big success. This year, they actually understood what they were doing, so it was a little more exciting. Ana found some super cute felt bags for them to put their booty into.

 We parents also got to play games, while the kids ate some candy and watched a movie. A great Christmas Eve, if I do say so myself.

My sister Christa, stayed with us over the Christmas weekend. It was fun to have someone else there to celebrate with us. She is always so good at helping the kids get excited about stuff and have lots of fun. Isn't that what Aunts are for? It was really nice for me because I had someone to talk to at night when Matt was playing with his Christmas gift, the Xbox.

Christmas was super exciting this year. Beckett remembered a lot from last year and so he was really into it. He wrote letters to Santa this year. The first one said,

Pretty direct and to the point. No messing around with that note. I think he started learning about sentences soon after he wrote that first note, because the next one said, "Beckett is the train." And then the final draft that he actually put in an envelope said, "Beckett, I want the train." Santa had no way of messing up that order. Anabelle also wrote her own letter:

I asked her what it said, and she said it told Santa she wanted a princess doll. I'm glad Santa could decipher that letter, because I never would have figured that one out.

The kids really wanted to leave out cookies for Santa, but we forgot to bake some. I don't think Santa minded because he wrote a very sweet note to the kids anyways, which they thought was pretty cool. Santa obviously got the message because Beckett got two trains and more tracks to go with them. Anabelle did get her princess doll (actually, she orginally wanted a set of all of the Disney Princesses, 7 in total, but Santa decided that was a little much), a Cinderella Barbie doll that she loves and Strawberry Shortcake with a bakery as a bonus. They got lots of other toys and wonderful presents that were loved just as much, but I don't want to bore you all with telling you about each individual gift, so I just went with the highlights.Thank you so much to those that gave us gifts this last Christmas. We loved and appreciated them all.

After Sacrament meeting that morning, Christmas day was spent at my brother Ben's house, eating more good food and playing more fun games. This is becoming a tradition as well. I guess we started all kinds of traditions this last year. We had such a good time, except that I started to get sick. The day after Christmas was spent mostly in bed, resting. I was able to actually take a sick day thanks to Christa. She took my kids home with her and brought them back the next day. That never happens for a mom. I appreciated it so much.

New Years Eve was a lot of fun. We spent it at our friends, James and Shana's place. We ate yummy pizza and snacks, and finally watched Captain America. We must be getting old though, because it felt like it took forever to get to midnight. We all kept saying to each other, "It's only 9?!", "It's only 10:30?!" Beckett and Anabelle, on the other hand, had no problem staying up that late. They could have watched stuff on Netfix all night long. They were mad when it was time to go.

Beckett enjoyed having a break from school, a little too much. I tried very hard to get him to understand that he was going to have to go back to school eventually, but I guess it didn't sink in because he put up a big fight when it was time to go back to school. It was worse than when he started school in some ways. I almost don't want to have Spring break if it is going to be like it was in January. Do you think they would give me a key to the school?

Lets get to Christmas as quick as we can

Okay people, I really want to get caught up on here, so, this is going to be fast. Besides, October through November were pretty quiet anyways.

We made carpet angels one day.

We went out for half priced sushi for Matt's birthday, and it was absolutely delicious, especially the FRIED cheesecake and bananas. Anyone in Ogden interested, let me know and I will send you the info. Totally worth it.

We did more for Halloween stuff this year than any year previously. Maybe it was because I totally rocked it this year and made Beckett the best costume EVER, and I had to show it off.

I think he likes it

One of the many festivities was a fair with Cousin Ally. Beckett had to have some pizza before he could get over the scary masks, but then he had a great time.

Belle on the other hand, was miserable the whole time.

And just because I am super prideful about this, one more picture of the awesome Thomas

Another thing we went to was the YM/YW Halloween carnival, which Matt helped with since he is now in young mens. It was a lot of fun. We also went to the Treehouse Museum for their Fairy Tale party. This time we went with our friend Krista and Aspen. This might have been our favorite thing we did that month.

They got goodie bags. How nice is that?! - Sorry Livia, I didn't get a picture with Aspen

Then, of course, there were the school parties. I did Anabelle's hair so pretty for hers. She let me use my 3 barrel crimperish iron. It was a little nerve wracking, but we made it through and she looked so beautiful.

Beckett's Halloween parade was fun and brought back lots of memories of when I was in Elementary. All the kids were super excited. I felt really cool when a lot of the older kids at Beckett's school commented on his costume. I don't know if I will ever be able to top it. Okay, I'll stop bragging now.

Halloween night we spent at my brother's, in Kaysville, which is becoming a tradition. Honestly, it is mostly because I don't want to trick-or-treat in my neighborhood. Plus my brother's neighborhood gives out good stuff, like full size pixie sticks, which should not be given to toddlers I might add.

Guess what this is a picture of...

Nope. Those are bats. Beckett watched a Wild Krats episode where they talked about bats. He then made a bat of his own. He clipped a little sheet of paper with a bag clip and then began flapping it. His invention did sound like a bat flying and kind of looked like one flapping its wings. Anabelle had to join in as well, only she used multiple sheets in a sandwich bag. It didn't sound quite the same as Beckett's.

Beckett had a puke day during November. It was awesome, especially when he puked all over in the car, right after we had all went out to eat dinner. Not cool. I did feel really sorry for him while he was sick. He kept saying, "I don't want to throw up any more." in a sad and frightened voice. Poor kid. At least it was for only 24 hours.

Thanksgiving was spent with Matt's brother, Nate. We had a great time and ate lots of super good food. We played lots of games, shopped Target on Black Friday, and saw the Black Canyon near Nate's house. Matt had been to the canyon before, but the rest of us hadn't. It was really cool. It is a canyon made of black rock that is almost straight down, and super deep. I would never go hiking around the edge of that place. It was uniquely beautiful, but I think it would be much more pretty in the summer or spring. If you are ever in Montrose, you should take a detour and see the Black Canyon.

Well, those two months are down now. Just December and Christmas to go.

June

Now on to June. It was pretty quiet for the most part. The kids must have really liked the zoo in Omaha, because when we got back, they busted out the animal dress-ups, which I can't believe still fit Beckett.

 We also made some animal costumes out of brown paper bags. Here is an elephant.

That tail doubled as his trunk. I have a picture of him walking as an elephant, but it is far too blurry. I don't remember what animal Belle made all by herself with her paper bag.

I'm thinking a squid or octopus? You decide.

About half way through the month, a friend in our ward asked if I could watch her daughter one morning. the little girls name is Paige, and she is the same age as Anabelle and are good friends in nursery. Paige had to go potty while she was at our house. So, I went to help her and Belle followed. She saw Paige pee on the toilet and immediately went and put on underwear and hasn't worn a diaper since, except for a couple weeks at night she wore pull-ups, but were done away with because she said she didn't need them. So far she has been right. We offered to buy Paige a pony, but her parents said that that wasn't necessary. I beg to differ. I haven't had to change any diapers in 2 months! That is easily worth a pony to me. Do you know how nice it has been to not lug a diaper bag everywhere I go? I just grab my purse with extra undies and clothes and we are set. I realize that will all change when we have another kid (someday in the future, not announcing anything), but for right now, I am enjoying the freedom. Here is a cute picture of the kids in there undies eating a popcicle under the table:

Father's day was nice. I attempted my first homemade cinnamon rolls for Matt. It was his mom's recipe and one of his favorites. I was so proud of my dough rising I had to snap a picture of it.

I should have snapped a picture of the finished product, but we had to hurry to a family dinner and I was taking those with us. They looked gorgeous, but I don't think I put enough cinnamon and sugar inside. They weren't gooey enough in the middle. I have attempted it a second time, but that one didn't turn out as well. I guess I am just going to have to keep making cinnamon rolls until I get it right. Anyone want to be my taste testers?

Beckett turned 5 in June. Most years, his birthday has been pretty quiet. Mostly just our little family, and maybe a few other family members are there for cake and ice cream. But this year we decided to have a real party. A few days before, we called and invited friends and family to the celebration. It was really fun. More than we have ever done, that is for sure, but a lot of fun.

We started the day off with trying to catch a train. Beckett's preschool, Preschool Express, is train themed, so every year they have a little train that is in the South Ogden parade and they invite their students to ride on it. We thought Beckett would love it. So we worked hard to get out of the house as quickly as we could to get on the train at 9 (we don't get up at our house until 8 usually). We made it, but the train broke down and there would be no train the parade this year. We were bummed. Beckett was bummed, until Matt said he would take him to the train museum to make up for it. Then all he wanted to do was get out of there. Unfortunately, we had to wait for the parade to pass by. That was a long wait for a boy that wanted to go see some trains. He didn't even want to go get some of the salt water taffy they were throwing at the crowd. Luckily, South Ogden doesn't have a lot in their parade, so we were able to get out of there quickly. Matt dropped me off at our house so I could decorate Beckett's cake, while he took the kids to the train museum. They had a great time. They also rode on the front runner, to Clearfield and back, but hey, that was a train ride.

When they got back, the cake was done and we left to meet up with people at the Hill Air Force Museum. It was free and something that would be fun for all the kids, plus we had never been there. It was so cool! The kids loved it.

All the kids that came:

After that picture, Van leaned over and put his arm around Ally, who he had just met not more than 5 min. earlier. Van's got the moves. He is quite the player.

The kids had a great time, but I think the dads had a better time. They were more like kids than the kids were. It was funny. I think every boy has a dream to be a pilot at some point in their life.

They had on display this huge helicopter:

It was massive. The picture definitely doesn't do it justice. I think they are used to transport Navy Seals. So cool.

Here some more cute pics of our time at the museum:

I love Beckett's face in this picture and that there is a little hand reaching for that nob. 

After that, the party moved to our house. More people joined us there. We had cake and ice cream and opened presents, your standard gig. Beckett had a ball. He loved being the center of attention. He had started to unwrap one of his presents, a train, before we left for the Plane Museum, and then was very upset that we took it away. When we got home, he wanted to finish opening that present. He had a very difficult time waiting for all of the guests to arrive so he could finish what he had started.

He was so excited once he got it all opened. He has wanted James for a long time. He also got some more tracks and freight cars to go with his new train, lots of bubbles, books, a big bouncy ball, a big stuffed thomas, otter pops, and some little animals that came with a tent and fake fire for roasting marshmallows. There might be more than that, but I honestly can't remember.

After that, it was cake time. I have to say, I am very proud of how this cake turned out. That is two for two this year. (Any ideas for Matt's?)

I can't take credit for coming up with all of these ideas on my own. Ana suggested using a jelly roll for Thomas's tank. That suggestion made the whole cake. Someone else suggested using an ice cream cone for his funnel. Another freezing the cake so it is easier to decorate. I came up with the idea to use disposable bread pans for the cars and the cab on Thomas.

I could tell Beckett wanted this cake to be pretty accurate, so I really tried to make it as close to Thomas and his coaches as I could. I even put faces on Annie and Clarabell, Thomas's coaches. I also had left over cake from making the cab, so I decided to make a coal car. Unfortunately they didn't all fit lined up on the board, so I had to make it look like a car off to the side. Beckett loved it and noticed every little detail I put into it.

It was an awesome birthday and we were so glad to finally share it with friends and family. Thank you to everyone that came, last minute invite and all.

It is crazy to think that 5 whole years have gone by since he was born. I have been thinking about his birth lately and some things about him as he has been growing up. He is such a sweet, tender-hearted boy. He loves to cuddle and snuggle with just about anyone he feels comfortable with. He loves to laugh and make you laugh. He loves to have his back scratched. He loves to feel other people's silky clothes, but wont wear any himself. He loves to be in just his underwear, even in the winter. He loves me with all his heart. No matter how bad of a mom I can be, he still loves me and will give me the biggest hugs and tons of kisses. He is bright and can read about 10 or more words already. He is starting Kindergarten this year and I am so nervous. I hope he does well and has a great time. I know it is only Kindergarten, but it is the beginning of sending him out into the world on his own. It is the start of his journey in life to be more independent. It is a letting go, and I think I will have just as hard of a time leaving him in that classroom on the first day as he will letting me leave him. Don't get me wrong. I am already planning what I am going to do with only one child in the house with me for half the day, but it will be hard to let someone else have responsibility for him and watch out for him and make sure he is okay. I love that little guy and don't want him to grow up for a little bit longer. I have never really thought time went fast with my kids, but now that I am here at this point, I realize that he isn't going to be my little snuggle bug for much longer. He will one day stop climbing into bed with me in the mornings and snuggling for a little while before we get up and start the day, and my heart hurts a little just thinking of it. I love that little guy and he has been such a joy in our family and we would not be the same without him.

Omaha

We drove out to Omaha, NE at the end of May. We decided it would be best to drive overnight so that the trip wouldn't seem so long to the youngens. It wasn't too bad, except that around 2am, we stopped for all of us to sleep, unfortunately, Anabelle decided to wake up and sat there crying until we started driving again. The little stinker. Luckily I had gotten some sleep before we stopped, so it was my turn to drive. We arrived at Grandma Jill's apartment early Saturday afternoon. Some of Matt's brothers and a wife came over and we had a fun time catching up and playing scrabble with each other on smartphones. Mom and I were totally excluded because we don't have smartphones. We had one of Matt's favorite meals that his mom makes, for dinner that night, Italian sandwiches. So yummy! It will kill you, but you will die happy.

The kids were so excited to be with their Grandma Jill. They had so much fun with her. One of Matt's sisters, Heather, brought over a bunch of toys for Mom to keep at her house, since she got rid of all of them when she left on her mission. One of the toys was this foot high, remote controlled T-Rex that walked, roared, and did all kinds of stuff. Beckett was so funny with this toy. At first he was really nervous about it. He would just watch it from a distance. Then he realized it wasn't real and that he could play with it and after that, it was his favorite toy. He had a hard time sharing it with other cousins that came over while we were there. I personally, am very glad that we don't have one of those. That thing would move all by itself without anyone touching the remote and it kind of freaked me out.

Belle's favorite thing at Grandma Jill's was her deck she loved it. I think she was out there every chance she got.

Matt left Saturday night to start his Brothers Baseball Trip. They did one two years ago, and decided they had so much fun, they wanted to do it again. This time they stayed at their sister, Tris's house. She lives in Ohio, so they went to Cleveland and Pittsburgh. They had a blast on this trip too. Tris made shirts for all the boys.

Matt's family loves Balderdash, a game about making up stuff and getting people to believe what you wrote is the right answer. On their last baseball trip, the boys played the game and they got the name George Dawes one round. He has since become a huge inside joke for all of the guys and at our family reunion, the joke only continued. Tris remembered it all and made a T-shirt for them. Isn't she so cool?

While they were on their trip, they also went to Cedar Point, the roller coaster capital.

It looks like so much fun. Someday I will get to go too. I love roller coasters. Hopefully turning 30 and having kids hasn't ruined that for me.

Back to Omaha. We had a lot of fun of our own. Monday was pretty tame most of the day. We went to a park and had a picnic with another one of the wives and children left behind.

All I have to say is the humidity is killer. I am seriously considering NOT moving to Omaha, just because of the humidity. I moved into the shade and it was literally no different than in the sunshine. I was melting. And Anabelle just wanted to swing the whole time, in the sunshine. I had to talk her out of swinging and going and playing on the playground with her cousins and brother because I couldn't stand it another second longer.

That night, after making pizza for dinner, the fire alarm went off in the apartment above Mom's. Mom immediately grabbed the kids and told them to get their shoes on. I grabbed my camera and phone and then left. As we were going down the stairs, the girl in the apartment on fire came out and said it was a cooking fire and they had put out and that we didn't need to leave. Mom and I left anyways because the alarm was still going. We walked across the street and watched the fire trucks come and then played at the park at the elementary. After a little bit, Mom's neighbor came running towards us and told us the fire fighters needed the keys to the apartment. I ran back to open the door for them to find them already inside and pots and pans everywhere. Apparently those sprinklers are crazy. They spray about 55 gallons of water per minute, so there was a few inches of water in the apartment above, and it was all coming down into Mom's place. We had to pack up and go sleep at my sister-in-law, Erica's house that night. It was crazy.

After a nights sleep, we felt better. Erica and I decided it would be a good day to take all our kids to the children's museum. As we were leaving it started to rain, then it turned into a downpour. It was lightening like crazy. I saw lightening strike a radio tower like a mile or less in front of me. Kind of scary. The streets were flooded. When we arrived at the museum, we got drenched running from our cars to the museum, and I am really not exaggerating. Here are some pictures of the kids at the museum after we had been there a half hour and you can still see the water in Belle's hair:

It was a really fun place. It is a lot like the Discovery Gateway. There was a YMCA children's group there so it was super crowded, but the kids had a blast anyways. There was this ball area that had all kinds of machines that moved the balls in all kinds of ways. Beckett loved that area. They also had an area for putting on stage make-up. Belle really liked that area as well as the grocery store. It was so fun. And it was free to boot. She had a year pass that lets in 2 adults, and 4 kids. It was perfect!

When we got back, Mom and I thought we would be able to go back to the apartment. Nope. We had to go back and get clothes for another night. I hadn't planned on living out of a suitcase, living out of a suitcase, if that makes any sense. Beckett and Anabelle were fine with it. They were having so much fun playing with their cousins that they never get to see, Beckett especially.

Wednesday, we thought for sure we would be able to go back to the apartment. We went back to only find big huge fans blowing. There was no way we would be able to stay the day there. So we went to the visitor's center by the Winter Quarters Temple. It was fun. They had all kinds of neat stuff and things to look at, even dress ups.

I highly recommend going there if you are ever in the area. The temple is just gorgeous as well. The visitor's center has a beautiful view of the temple and the graveyard right next to it. (In case you didn't know, the temple was built right next to the cemetery for the saints that died there before they could begin their trek out west. It actually is really beautiful and even more peaceful than most temple grounds)

Well, when we got back to the apartment, it was still blowing. So we went shopping! We went to Joann's, where Jill works, and she helped me pick out some fabric for curtains to put in Anabelle's room.

Didn't they just turn out adorable? I just love them. I like how they match her blanket as well.

Just a reminder of what it looks like

The only problem is, that as soon as we came home, Anabelle started insisting on sleeping in Beckett's room. So, now those cute curtains are up with no blanket to match. Oh well, they look cute anyways.

After our purchases, we decided we couldn't sleep at the apartment that night, and trespassed on another sister-in-law, Taffy. Luckily, we arrived just as she was finishing up making chicken pot pie, so we got to have a delicious dinner and a place to stay. Beckett and Anabelle got acquainted with more cousins that they never see and had a lot of fun. Everyone that we stayed with was so hospitable. They were so kind and gracious.

Well, now we are up to Thursday, and that was the day we went to the Omaha Zoo. Which is huge! I have never been and it was so cool. At least 3 or 4 times bigger than our wonderful Hoogle Zoo. They have the 2nd largest indoor rainforest in the world. How cool is that?! We didn't go in though. There was just too much to look at and two little kids and two adults that got a little weary of walking everywhere (oh wait, the kids were in the wagon that I rented, so they really had no excuse for being tired).

We did go in the desert dome, which didn't feel very new to me, but they did have an exhibit in the basement that was so cool. It is called Creatures of the Night. It is dark down there and they have all these nocturnal creatures on display, even bats in open cages that are netted off, but you can see and hear them flying around. It was really cool.

All the boys thought it was so fun to be down there and that they were so tough, even though they are only 4 and 5. Then we got to the end, which is where they have a bayou, complete with alligators. You walk through on a wooden platform that is maybe a foot off the water with thin metal netting on the sides, hanging from the railing.

At first I thought, "Those alligators are fake. There is no way they would have them so close to the public." Then I asked Taffy if they were real and yes they were. Beckett was scared to go in, but once he got in he wasn't scared. Once I got in and found that out, I was a bit nervous. Those gators could easily chomp through and eat somebody. I did calm down after she told me that they are really lazy and well feed. They better be! They had an albino alligator in there and that was really cool. It was maybe 3 feet from the walkway, so I didn't stay too long to gawk.

After that, we went to the aquarium. That was so fun. They had all kinds of ocean creatures. I think the kids liked this place the most.

I didn't get a picture of it, but they had a big column filled with water and Jelly fish. It was so amazing and beautiful. It was just like on Finding Nemo.

Due to Beckett's insistence, after seeing the cat house, we went and saw the giraffes, but I didn't take any pictures there either. I am terrible. I did get a picture of the next thing we went and saw though:

That was definitely the best thing there for Beckett. After that, we were all spent and went home. I got an amazing parking spot, in the shade, real close to the entrance. I was so lucky and so happy when we were able to just pull right out of there. That was a highlight for me.

After that, Mom and I decided that we had had enough of sleeping at other people's houses and went back, loud fans and all. They had now added dehumidifiers, so it was even noisier, but we didn't care. It was nice to be settled finally and not putting anyone out. Plus, we made up our own recipe for chicken salad that had just what we wanted in it and it turned out great. I am craving it now just thinking about it.

Friday was the day the boys got back, so we decided to not do much. I sewed my curtains and that was about it. Saturday we spent at Matt's brother's house helping him with yard work, and then had Chinese for dinner (you should know by now that the meals were just as much apart of the trip for me, as everything else was). Sunday we had a big picnic with almost all of the family in Omaha, plus some from Utah, and the kids just had a blast playing with all of their cousins. Here is a picture of Anabelle chasing a squirrel with her cousin Ally (also from Utah):

After the picnic, Matt and I decided we would leave as soon as we could, instead of the next day, so we could drive while the kids slept. I think it took Matt's mom by surprise because she started crying when we said it. It was hard for us to leave as well. I think Beckett knew it we were leaving too because this is what he did when we got back to Mom's apartment:

Then Anabelle couldn't be left out, only she didn't look quite so melancholy.

We had so much fun with family and especially with Mom. One of our best trips out there.