Thanksgiving

We went to Utah for Thanksgiving. We alternate holidays each year with our families. This year we spent Thanksgiving with Brandon's family. We were so excited to see everyone. We had a new nephew Isaac, who was born in June, but this was the first time we had seen him. Last time Tyler had seen all of his cousins was Christmas last year. He was too little then to play, but not this year. He had to learn to hold his own with Sophie and Ella. They are a bit older, but not much bigger.

Brandon's parents live in Phoenix, so they drove up with Erin, Mike and kids. Chad flew in from Arizona as well, and we all stayed in Salt Lake at Nicole and Scot's beautiful home. Aside from everyone getting a cold, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving week with them. All the girls got up on Friday and hit the stores early (okay, I insisted they go, or I was going to steal a car and go with out them). At least I had fun, and I think they did too!

Earlier the week before Brandon and I spent some time with my family. We went down to stay at my Aunt Kari's house for a couple of days. It was good to see all of them again. We hadn't seen my cousin Dustin for 4 years, or Andrew for 2 years. Fortunately my grandparents were spending Thanksgiving with Kari's family so we got to see them too. Brandon enjoyed a few days fishing with my uncle Mike and his friend Shane (makes him want to move there...not that again)

My sister is living there, and getting married to a great guy in January. We went and saw where they were going to live (very nice place), and Tyler and I also visited the family she nanny's for. One night we went out with 2 of our favorite, and dearest couple friends, the Frederick's' and the Ovard's. We had a blast just hanging out like old times. It was fun to see our boys (big and small) play together.

Although we were there for 10 days, the time flew by, and we wished we had been able to spend more time with everyone!

P.S. Tyler still has his cold. What is it with him. Whenever we go out of town he gets sick. I can't wait for him to get better so he will sleep through the night again. We NEED sleep! =)

Day at the Zoo

I intended to post this blog before we left for Utah for 10 Thanksgiving, but never got around to it. Anyways, I remembered to bring my camera to the zoo with us, and was able to get a few good pics! Plus, the story is kinda funny too.

On Friday (the day before we were leaving to fly to Utah), Tyler and I went to the Zoo with my friend Heather and her 3 adorable little girls. The Zoo is not very close to our house, so we don't go there often. In fact this was Tyler's first time. After I got him all packed to go, I was only running 15 minutes behind! So I stuffed him in the car, and we were off. As I was pulling out of the garage, I thought to myself, you better check to make sure you didn't leave the stroller behind. I was in a hurry, so I scanned the garage, and made sure it wasn't there, assuming the only other place it would be was in my car.

When we got to the zoo, I went around to the back of my Jeep to pull out my stroll. I was shocked! The stroller was MISSING! At this moment I just about screamed. No way! I checked the garage, and I knew I did not take it our of my car. I immediately called Brandon to yell at him for ruining my afternoon, because he obviously had taken the stroller out. Who else would have moved it? He said that he had not touched the stroller, and if it wasn't in my car, and I didn't take it out, then maybe it had been stolen. Oh great! I mean, come on, who steals a stroller!

The day was not a complete bust. The zoo, has strollers to rent for $5. For that price you'd think the straps would at least latch, but NO. anyways. WE had fun looking at the animal, and we also saw Diego (of Go Diego, Go) at the discovery barn.



Now back to the missing stroller. On my way home I got to thinking. Could I have possibly left the stroller after shopping? No. I would have run over it for sure, since I always park it right behind me when I load up. When I got home i scoured the garage on more time. No stroller. I guess some one did steal it. I thought back through the week. The last time I saw the stroller was on Wednesday, when we went shopping at Town Center (an outdoor shopping center). So before I went and bought another stroller, I decided to call Town Center security, and just see if they had found a stray stroller. Well, sure enough, one of the security guards had picked one up and had been driving around with it in the back of his BMW SUV (ridiculous). I felt pretty stupid. Who leaves a stroller in the parking lot anyways! I guess I'm just lucky Tyler wasn't in it! =)

Trick-or-Treat

So I'm a little late on the Halloween pics, but here are a few of Tyler in his second Halloween costume. It was a little chilly out on Halloween, so we put him in his Frog costume that my aunt Remi had given him. Doesn't he look adorable! He even looked too cute when he was grumpy and tired of going from house to house. No, we did not make him walk everywhere, but we did drive around and visit a few friends, and of course Grandma & Grandpa Walker. Sorry Grandma & Grandpa Hardy we would never have made it in time for Halloween even if we did want to drive all the way to Phoenix.

Pumpkin Carving

We finally did it! Believe it or not this is the first time in 7 years of wedded bliss that Brandon and I have ever carved pumpkins together. Tyler helped us gut the pumpkins. Although he preferred to put the seeds and mush back in rather that taking it out, he was still a big help. We can't wait until tomorrow night when we can take him around the neighborhood trick-or-treating!

Cowboy Up!

We had or church's annual Trunk or Treat last night. The weather was warm, so we dressed Tyler up in his cowboy outfit. My aunt Tina had sent this outfit last year at Halloween. Since Tyler was born his "theme" has been cowboy (i.e. his room, blankets, and pacifier clip are all cowboy), so the costume was perfect. I've been waiting all year to dress him up and snap a few pics. He wouldn't keep his hat on, but he was still adorable. Cutest cowboy in the Midwest! Doesn't he look thrilled? Oh an what is a good cowboy with out his trusty "horse"!

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday the weather was beautiful here in Kansas(80 degrees), so we decided to take Tyler to his first Pumpkin Patch. We went to Deanna Rose Farmstead, which happens to be just down the street from us.

We had so much fun looking at all the animals. Tyler especially love the pygmy goats. He was not shy at all! He went right up to them and tried to hug them. He even liked feeding them so much that he was looking for pellets that had fallen on the ground to pick up and feed them. It was kind of gross since goat terds are almost exactly the same size and shape as the pellets he was after. Lucky for us he never tried to put them in his mouth, which is suprising since every thing goes in his mouth!

We took a hay ride out to the little pumpkin patch. There were all kinds of fun activities for the kids. Tyler walked thropugh the corn maze, and played on the tower of hay. We tried to get him to help pick out a pumpkin, but he was more interested in playing in the dirt.

And the winner is...

The verdict is in! As you can probably tell from the sunflower, we are staying in Kansas City! Mom you can breathe a sigh of relief now, and everyone else can shed a tear. I can finally relax and not feel like my life is in limbo. Man, I did not know how stressed and emotionally worn out I was getting over this whole thing! Today I can finally relax.

Not that I didn't want to move to Utah. Okay, I really didn't! But this was Brandon's decision to make (mostly). He knew that I would move if that is what he felt was best, but I'm sure glad he decided that at this point in his career it was not the best choice. Yeah!

Thanks for every ones prayers and support. We really appreciated it!

P.S. We have more than fields of corn and sunflowers here! But no beautiful mountains =(

I wish I had a crystal ball!

Well, as most of you already know, Brandon has an opportunity to move to Utah with his current company. Brandon of course jumped at the chance of moving back to the mountains, but I on the other hand am not so sure.

When Brandon and I got married, I always told him that I was willing to move for his career. What I meant by that was, that if the opportunity presented itself for advancement, and we had to up root our lives and move, I would do it. The catch is I'm really only willing to do this if it is better for his career and therefore better for us financially and such. I mean, I'm a good wife, and I want my husband to succeed and be happy and all, but unfortunately for me this is a very real possibility now.

Now Brandon has been very excited about this possibility of moving, but I have very mixed feelings about the whole thing! For one, I LIKE Kansas City. I even thought Brandon liked Kansas (well he says he still does). We changed our whole blog layout to support the KU Jayhawks (currently his favorite college basketball team). My family is here. I have friends here. I am finally starting to feel settled here. The schools here are awesome (not that I have to worry about that right now, but in about 5 years it will matter). The city is nice, and the neighborhoods are master planned and well taken care of (at least in Johnson county). The cost of living is good, and houses are less expensive. Utah has some good things. The mountains. The outdoor activities. We have friends and family there too, but no grandparents. No FREE babysitting =)! I plead the 5th on everything else involving the pros and cons of moving. I'm liable to come across the wrong way if I say to much, so I'm keeping my big mouth shut for now.

Anyways, the bottom line is we don't even know if Humana (Brandon's company) will even give him what he needs ($$$) in order to live out there. So, I know when Brandon talks about it it sounds like a done deal, but it's not! We still have some big decisions ahead of us, and that is why I wish I had a crystal ball!

Must read!

My friend sent me this email the other day, and I was laughing so hard I cried! I know all the Moms out there can relate! Enjoy!



Priceless..
A 3-year-old tells all from his mother's restroom stall. By Shannon Popkin
My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we're in the library, the grocery store or at a drive-thru window.
People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just-turned-3-year-old. And you never have to ask him to turn up the volume. It's always fully cranked. There've been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not-so-audible voice, but never have I wished this more than last week at Costco.
Halfway, through our shopping trip, nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to the last stall:
"Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now? Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?"
At this point I started mentally counting how many women had been in the bathroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity.
Cade continued, "Mommy, you ARE going stinkies aren't you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh ... Mommy! I'm trying to see in dere. Oh! I see dem. Dat is a very good girl, Mommy. You are gonna get some candy!"
I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming new born when you need her? Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before exiting.
Trying to divert him, I said, "Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy. We'll both have some!" "No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies. Oh! Mommy!" He started to gag at this point. "Uh oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up. Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!! Dat is so gross!!"
As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall. I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing the subject. I began to reason with myself: OK. There are four other toilets. If I count four flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone.
"Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done going stinkies! Get up! Get up!" He grunted as he tried to pull me off.
Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door. "Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under da door? What were you wooking at, Mommy? You wooking at the wady's feet?"
More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation. "Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy." He started pounding on the door. "Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!"
I saw that my "wait 'em out" plan was unraveling. I sheepishly opened the door, and found standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud. My first thought was complete emabarassment, then I thought, "Where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract' where I signed away every bit of my dignity and privacy?" But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as Mommy to this little fellow.
(Shannon Popkin is a freelance writer and mother of three. She lives with her family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she no longer uses public restrooms)

Tag your it!

4 JOBS I HAVE HAD:
1- Stay-at-home mom
2- Veterinary Technician
3- Receptionist
4- Legal Assistant

MOVIES I COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER:
1- Pride & Prejudice (the new one with Kiera Knightly)
2- When Harry Met Sally
3- Any Harry Potter Movie
4- Tombstone

FAVORITE T.V. SHOWS:
1- Grey's Anatomy
2- Survivor (huge fan, even thought when it first came out I could not understand why anyone would want to watch it!)
3- The Office
4- LOST

FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1- Scrapbooking
2- Quilting
3- Reading
4- Going to the movies

PLACES I HAVE LIVED: More than 4 that's for sure!
1- Hayward, CA
2- Roseville, CA
3- Boise, ID
4- Houston, TX
5- Tomball, TX
6- Provo, UT
7- Springville, UT
8- Overland Park, KS
9- Olathe, KS

FAVORITE FOODS:
1- Pizza
2- Weinerschnitzle
3- Blue Chip iced sugar cookies
4- Biscuits with butter & honey

PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
1- McCall, ID
2- riding a horse
3- in bed asleep
4- There's no place like home

WEB SITES I CHECK DAILY:
1- Yahoo mail
2- Gmail
3- Weight watchers
4- Blogger

WHO I'M TAGGING:
1- Ovard's (Noelle)
2- Johnson's (Ginny)
3- Black's (Kerry)
4- Naomi

Funny Face

I found these pics on our camera. I thought they were so funny I just had to put them on here. It's hard to believe that 2 boys who are usually adorable can look so, well, horrible! When I saw these, I just started laughing! When I asked Brandon, he said he was trying to entertain Tyler by making funny faces, and decided to snap a few pics. Enjoy the results! I sure did.

A taste for the exotic

While Brandon's parents were in town, Tyler had a great time exploring to backyard. WE had some great weather. For most of August it had been in the 90-100's, with a heat index of 110 sometimes, but this week it was in the 80's. We enjoyed the cooler weather and ate out on the patio a couple of times. Tyler however, ate in the yard. Sitting on the grass he found a poor "little" grasshopper. Curious he played with it, tried to give it to everyone, and finally did what he does best, and put it in his mouth! Yuck!!!



Well there was a great video of him actually eating the grasshopper, but the file was to big to put on the blog or on You tube. Sorry. It was really cute, and would have made this blog soooo much fun!

YES! People do come to Kansas for vacation!

Okay, I'm really trying hard to keep up with this blog. This blog happens to be right on track. I can't update daily, or even weekly because quite frankly my life isn't that interesting! Anyways, last week, Brandon's parents and his brother Chad came out to visit us for a few days. It was lots of fun for everyone! I was sick with a bad sinus infection and probably kinda crabby. Tyler was not on his best behavior. This is probably because I was just bragging about what a good baby he is, and how he goes right to sleep at night. Note: never brag about your child, he will inevitably turn you into a liar =)! I still think he is the cutest thing on earth! This is my very objective opinion. I'm certainly not biased in anyway! Yeah right! Oh right , so back to the visit. We mostly just relaxed. We were going to go to the Royals game, but the weather was pretty sketchy. Of course you should never believe the weather man. Forecast for huge thunderstorms, and we only got a light sprinkle! We watched movies, and played our Wii (I'll blog about the Wii later). The boy's golfed a couple of times, and The girls went to the mall. We also celebrated Rob's (Brandon's dad) birthday on Sunday. Tyler loved seeing his other grandparent's, and took to them right away. Grandparents left on Tuesday, which happens to be the day we lost everything. I lost my purse with my cell phone in it, Brandon lost his cell phone, and previously, Judy (Brandon's mom) had lost her brown sweater on her way here. But all was not lost after all! My purse was in my mom's car (we had borrowed it the night before to go down to the plaza), and Brandon's phone was left in the golf cart at Falcon Ridge where they had golfed earlier that morning. When Rob & Judy got home they called and told us they had found her missing sweater. It had been left on the shuttle bus! Brandon and Chad went to the DMB concert that night, and had a great time! Oh yeah, and I'm finally starting to get some relief from my sinus infection. Overall it was great to see everyone. We really wished we live closer to Brandon's family, but we're not moving to Arizona any time soon (Sorry, it's just to HOT). So maybe everyone should move to Kansas! I know, I know. Why would any one choose to live in Kansas! =)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Yesterday was Tyler's first birthday! We were going to have a party, but time has a way of getting away from me, and by the time I realized it, there was no time for invitations. Oh well! He won't remember anyways. We had dinner, cake and opened presents with my family, and Tyler's buddy Brycen came over with his parents. Tyler's aunt Tara was also in town from Utah to celebrate the big day. I can't believe a year has gone by already!

A boy & his dog

Tyler loves his puppy. They are the best of friends, and love to share EVERYTHING! This includes their food. Tyler's favorite past time is dropping food on the floor for Dryfus to eat, or if he is lucky Dryfus will sneak up while I'm not watching and Tyler just hands over the food. Yuck! But it gets worse. Not only does Tyler share his food with the dog, but Dryfus also shares with Tyler! I know it's disgusting, and I try to prevent it at all costs, but Tyler can be pretty quick. If I turn my back even for a second he goes straight to the dog bowl. I have caught him with kibble in his mouth only once. I'm pretty sure he realized he didn't enjoy Dryfus' food as much as Dryfus enjoys his. But he still loves to play in the water bowl. Yuck! I guess the silver lining is that I don't have to sweep after Tyler eats!

P.S. No children or animals were harmed in the taking of these pictures!